This Week: Notre Dame College will travel to the University of Charleston on Wednesday Feb. 16 for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off. The Falcons will conclude the week on Saturday Feb. 19 at 2:00 p.m. when they return home to face West Virginia State. After this week, there will be just two games remaining before the annual MEC Tournament scheduled to begin on Wednesday Mar. 2.

Spectator Reminder: There will be no reserved seating or advance ticket sales for the game on Saturday. Masks are required.
 
Records: NDC enters this week on fire by winning their last five contests, the second-longest streak in the MEC. Currently, the Falcons are 12-11 (11-7 MEC) and tied for fourth place in the Mountain East. UC will enter the contest winning their last three games and holding a 15-7 (13-5 MEC) record to sit tied for second in the MEC. WVSU is 17-6 (13-5 MEC) and also tied for second place in the MEC.
 
Coaches Corner: Imani Gordon is the head coach of Notre Dame College in her first season. Gordon has been with the NDC women's basketball program since the 2017-18 season. Tianni Kelly leads the Charleston women's basketball program in her second season. Kelly has a career record of 34-10. Charles Marshall is in his sixth season as the head women's basketball coach at West Virginia State.
 
Rankings: None of these teams are ranked in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Poll.
 
Series History: Notre Dame has an 11-8 record when playing Charleston since their first meeting in 2013-14, and including UC's 79-72 win over NDC in double overtime back on Jan. 15. Notre Dame is 12-5 when playing West Virginia State since their first meeting in 2013-14, and including WVSU's 64-62 win back on Jan. 12.
 
Noting the Falcons: Notre Dame is red-hot after winning their last five contests, including a 2-0 stretch last week. On Wednesday, NDC took down Fairmont State at home, 71-64. Alana Ellis led the offense with a game-high 21 points. Tamai Ridley generated her tenth double-double of the season with a 14-point 17-rebound performance. On Saturday, NDC controlled the contest against Frostburg State by leading for more than 36 minutes to earn a 52-47 victory. Lilee Carlson led the Notre Dame offense on this occasion as she tied FSU's Samiya Esema for a game-high 11 points. In an encore performance, Ridley brought down another 17 rebounds to go along with eight points during the game.
 
For the season, Notre Dame has turned to Ellis when it needs a bucket, as the sophomore leads the team in field goals made and attempted, as well as scoring at 15.3 points per game. Carlson is the only other Falcons to average double figures at 11.3 ppg. Ridley checks in as the team's third leading scoring at 9.3 ppg, but the forward does most of her damage on the rebounding side by grabbing 12.7 rebounds per game.
 
Stacking up against the MEC, Ellis checks in at ninth in the league in scoring, while Carlson is tied for 24^th. In addition, the freshman is top ten in the MEC in free throw percentage (74.8%) and tied for 13^th in assists per game with 2.7. Furthermore, and following her back-to-back 17-rebound performances, the Massillon, Ohio native leads the Mountain East and is seventh nationally in rebounding. Moreover, the senior is now 23 rebounds away from breaking NDC's single season record, which was originally set 25 years ago by All-American Joni DePiore when she brought down 302 boards during the 1996-97 season.
 
As a team, Notre Dame is ninth in the MEC in scoring offense (64.3 ppg) and fifth in the league in scoring defense (70.3 ppg). In terms of field goal percentage, NDC is eighth at 37.9%, while being seventh in opponent field goal percentage at 41.4%. In addition, the Falcons are seventh in three-point percentage (30.0%) and fourth in opponent three-point percentage (29.4%). Lastly, Notre Dame is also eighth in rebounding (38.2 rpg) and sixth in turnover margin (-1.2).
 
Noting the Golden Eagles: Charleston begins this week after a 3-0 stretch over the last seven days. On Wednesday, UC took down West Virginia Wesleyan 91-60. Dakota Reeves scored a game-high 28 points on just 6-9 shooting from the floor (4-6 3FG, 12-12 FT). Sierra Davis contributed an efficient 18 points on 7-8 shooting, with three other Golden Eagles scoring in double figures. On Saturday, the Golden Eagles beat Davis & Elkins 73-63 with a balanced scoring attack. Markyia McCormick scored a team-high 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds, followed by Sierra Davis' 13-point, 10-rebound double-double. Fourth other Golden Eagles scored eight or more points to contribute to their level scoring attack. On Monday, UC dominated WVWC in a rematch from last week, 90-37. Reeves tallied a game-high 24 points, while the Golden Eagles held the Bobcats without a double-digit scorer of their own.
 
For Charleston thus far, McCormick is the team's leading scorer at 16.3 ppg (T-6^th MEC), followed by Clarrissa Francis at 12.6 ppg (DNQ MEC), Reeves with 12.0 ppg (21^st MEC) and Davis with 10.2 ppg. McCormick is also the league's second-best free throw shooter at 84.2%, while Reeves leads the conference in three-point percentage (44.2%) and is second in three-point field goals made per game (3.0). Moreover, Reeves ranks top ten nationally in both of the aforementioned categories. The Golden Eagles deploy an ultra-balanced rebounding game as no player averages 6.0 rpg or more. Five different UC players average four or more rebounds per game, led by Anastasiia Zakharova at 5.7 rpg (21^st MEC). Lastly, Trinty Palacio is the team's primary facilitator by ranking fourth in the MEC at 3.7 assists per game and leading the league in assist to turnover ratio (2.2).
 
As a whole, Charleston is sixth in the MEC (24^th NCAA Division II) in scoring offense (75.5 ppg), while being second in the MEC in scoring defense (66.0 ppg). In addition, the Golden Eagles are once again sixth in the conference in field goal percentage (42.2%), but are the top team in the league when it comes to opponent's field goal percentage (37.1%). Although being middle of the pack offensively, and one of the best teams defensively, UC flips the scrip when it comes to three-point scoring. In fact, Charleston posts the top three-point percentage in the MEC (37.6%), while falling to seventh in opponent three-point percentage (31.0 %). In terms of rebounding, the Golden Eagles are tied for third with 41.8 rpg. Lastly, in terms of turnover margin, UC is one of four MEC teams to post a positive differential at +0.1.
 
Noting the Yellow Jackets: West Virginia State is 2-1 during the last seven days with No. 1 Glenville State snapping WVSU's six game winning streak. On Wednesday, the Yellow Jackets beat Davis & Elkins 92-70 at home. Ashley Davis scored a team-high 22 points on 6-9 shooting from three. Charity Shears also added 20 points on 3-6 shooting from three, as Zakorrah Russell contributed 12 points, six rebounds and seven assists. On Saturday, five players scored in double figures as WVSU handled West Virginia Wesleyan 102-69. Destiny Fields was the game's leading scorer with 17 points, Shears added 15 points (3-6 3FG), with Shelby Harmeyer also scoring 15 points (5-8 3FG), while Russell tallied 13 points (3-5 3FG) and six dimes. The Yellow Jackets win streak came to an end on Monday at the hands of No. 1 Glenville State, 103-77. Hannah Shriver posted a team-high 19 points, as Fields generated a 16-point and 10-rebound double-double.
 
West Virginia State features a balanced scoring attack from a number of different players as the Yellow Jackets like to rotate 12-14 players each game. Shears is the team's leading scorer at 11.7 ppg (22^nd MEC), followed closely by Fields' 11.1 ppg and Harmeyer's 10.0 ppg. Shriver (8.8 ppg), Russell (8.3 ppg) and Alana Kramer (7.7 ppg) are the other three capable scorers for WVSU. Emyah Fortenberry is the squad's post presence as she tallies 7.3 rpg (9^th MEC) and one block per game (7^th MEC). Harmeyer nets 2.3 three-pointers per game, which is tied for sixth in the league.
 
As a team, West Virginia State likes to play an up-tempo game by ranking top five nationally in scoring offense with 81.1 ppg (T-3^rd MEC), while being just eighth in the Mountain East in scoring defense by surrendering 74.9 ppg. WVSU is tied for ninth in the MEC in field goal percentage (37.3%), and ninth in opponent field goal percentage (43.6%). In looking at three-point shooting, West Virginia State is tied for tenth in the MEC in percentage (28.5%) despite attempting the most three-pointers across all of NCAA Division II (743). Their opponent's three-point percentage is ranked ninth in the MEC at 32.2%. The Yellow Jackets are a sound rebounding team at 43.2 per game which is second in the conference and 17^th nationally. Lastly, WVSU also does a very good job at taking care of the ball by posting a +7.1 turnover margin, good for second in the MEC and ninth across the nation.