Box Score ATHENS, W. Va. – On a low scoring night down south, the Notre Dame College women's basketball team (7-10, 6-6 MEC) battled until the very end but fell 56-50 to Concord University (13-6, 8-5 MEC).
Lilee Carlson was the bright spot on offense for the Falcons with a game-high 21 points on 8-14 shooting from the floor. The freshman also registered a game-high 39 minutes played.
The contest was a battle for the entire 40 minutes, as neither team was able to open up more than an eight-point lead. The game featured ten ties and four lead changes as both teams shot nearly identical from the field (31.7% for NDC and 31.5% for CU).
In the first half, both teams struggled to score with the Falcons shooting 9-37 (26.5%) from the field and the Mountain Lions converting only 6-27 (22.2%) from the floor. Carlson gifted NDC a 12-9 lead after the first ten minutes of play with a three-pointer from the top of the arc at the as time expired in the period.
Notre Dame would open the second with back-to-back buckets to claim a 16-9 lead at the 8:08 mark, their largest lead of the game. The two sides would exchange buckets throughout the remainder of the second quarter allowing CU to grab the quarter 11-10, but providing NDC with a 22-20 halftime lead.
The third quarter would feature an exchange of haymakers as neither team was able to take more than a two-possession advantage. CU would claim their first lead of the game at the 3:23 mark (33-32), since it was 9-7 in the first quarter. The third period would wrap up in a 36-36 tie after the Mountain Lions snagged the quarter 16-14.
In the fourth quarter, both teams picked up the offensive intensity with NDC shooting 6-15 (40.0%) from the field and CU netting half of their baskets, at 6-12. During the period,
Alana Ellis would finish off a layup and put Notre Dame on top 45-40 with 6:34 remaining in the contest to force a Mountain Lion timeout. Concord would respond well out of the timeout and initiate a 13-0 run to leap out to their largest lead of the game (53-45), with 2:56 left on the clock. CU would finish the game off with free throws, 56-50.
As aforementioned, Carlson shined bright for the Falcons on offense with a game-high 21 points on 8-14 shooting from the field. Several NDC Falcons contributed on the boards with
Marina Adachi cleaning a career-high seven rebounds, along with Ellis and
Tamia Ridley's seven rebounds apiece, and
Theresa Parr's six.
Notre Dame won the turnover battle 13 to 17, while Concord claimed the rebounding battle 43-38. The difference in the contest was free throw shooting as NDC shot 6-10 (60.0%) from the charity stripe while CU converted 18-20 from the line (90.0%).
Notre Dame will continue Mountain East Conference play on Saturday Jan. 29 at 2:00 p.m. when the Falcons welcome the No. 1 team in the country to town in Glenville State College (according to the WBCA). Saturday will mark the first time NDC has squared off against the top team in the nation since Nov. 14, 2017 against Ashland.
