SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – The momentum continues to roll for Notre Dame College (11-11, 10-7 MEC), now on a four-game win streak after grounding the Fairmont State Falcons (11-11, 9-8 MEC) on Wednesday evening, 71-64. The NDC Falcons were fueled by reigning MEC Player of the Week Tamia Ridley who turned in her tenth double-double of the season, while the team also welcomed back their playmaking All-American in Jada Marone whose impact was immediately felt.
 
"We are coming together and playing well at the right time," mentioned head coach Imani Gordon. "During the games our girls are locking in and making the necessary adjustments. They are playing very hard and playing together."
 
Notre Dame came out the gates firing on all cylinders with Lilee Carlson netting a three-pointer just 13 seconds into the contest. Alana Ellis would add a pair of layups on the following two possessions to give NDC a 7-0 advantage two minutes into the game. Fairmont State would compose themselves and dual Notre Dame for the remainder of the quarter to a 17-11 NDC lead after ten minutes of play.
 
The FSU Falcons began the second quarter by clawing their way back into the game and taking their first lead at the 4:54 mark, 25-23. The NDC Falcons would quickly regain the lead after a Marina Adachi three-pointer a mere 20 seconds later. Baskets would be exchanged to a 33-29 Notre Dame lead at the break.
 
To begin the second half, Fairmont State played well and regained a narrow 36-35 lead at the 6:40 mark in the third. However, an inspired second half Notre Dame team would respond with a 10-0 run, and an exclamation point to their 45-36 lead at the 4:08 mark. In the waning seconds of the third quarter, Ellis would turnover FSU's Katy Darnell and proceed to run the length of the court for a layup at the buzzer to add another exclamation point to NDC's 55-48 lead through three quarters.
 
In the fourth quarter, Notre Dame would open up their largest lead of the game, 62-50 with 7:00 minutes remaining in the contest. However, a hungry FSU team bounced right back with three straight baskets of their own to cut the lead back to four (62-58), with 5:17 left in the game. Another exchange of buckets would playout over the remaining five minutes, but clutch free throws by Carlson, Marone and Theresa Parr would ensure the 71-64 victory inside Murphy Gymnasium.
 
Notre Dame was led on offense by Ellis' game-high 21 points, followed by Ridley's 14. In addition, Carlson and Adachi (3-6 3FG) contributed nine pointes a piece as Notre Dame shot a blistering hot 48.3% (28-58) from the floor. Marone facilitated a game-high five assists for NDC in her first game back from injury since Dec. 1.
 
On the glass, Ridley was a dominating force by cleaning a game-high 17 boards to give NDC the advantage in the rebounding battle 39-32. After terrorizing the paint, the Massillon, Ohio native has now generated ten double-doubles this season, including three such occurrences in her last four games. Moreover, the two-time MEC Player of the Week has now grabbed at least 15 rebounds in seven games this season.
 
"Tamia is once again playing huge for us by rebounding well and leading the team," exclaimed Gordon. "I'm excited for these last couple of games before the conference tournament starts. We will continue to get better!"
 
Notre Dame College has five games remaining, including two inside Murphy Gymnasium, before the annual Mountain East Conference Tournament begins on Wednesday Mar. 2. In looking forward to their next contest, the Falcons will play on Saturday Feb. 12 at 2:00 p.m. when they travel to Frostburg State University, located in Frostburg, MD.