SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – Refusing to allow a basket over the final five minutes of play, the Notre Dame College women's basketball team (3-7, 2-4 MEC) stormed back to defeat West Virginia Wesleyan College (2-7, 0-5 MEC), 69-66 on Saturday afternoon inside Murphy Gymnasium. The strong sophomore tandem of Cencere McDaniel and Noel Weathers continued to provide the spark for NDC as McDaniel generated her first career double-double behind 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Weathers posted a team-high 16 points, seven rebounds and tied a career-high with three blocked shots.

"Still a lot of work to do, but the girls have really been working hard and putting the pieces together, so I was glad we were able to fight and pull out a home win," mentioned head coach Lauren Macer following the victory.
 
McDaniel and the Falcons started the contest red hot, as the Alsip, IL native buried a pair of three-pointers to force an early WV Wesleyan timeout at the 8:09 mark, following an 8-0 run. The Falcons continued to roll, opening their largest lead of the contest at 18-6 with 4:14 to play in the first quarter. The Bobcats generated a buzzer-beating three-pointer to close out the frame, 23-17 in favor of NDC.
 
WVWC quickly cut the NDC lead to 23-20 with a three-pointer right out of the second quarter gate. Notre Dame found their groove once more, as Weathers capped off a 14-5 Falcon run, to regain a 12-point advantage (37-25). The two sides exchanged baskets into the half, as NDC took the frame 22-20, to lead 45-37 at the break.
 
In the third quarter, Notre Dame took another double-digit lead after Kennadi Harris knocked down one of three, three-pointers on the day. However, the Bobcats answered with a 17-2 run over the next seven minutes, flipping the contest in favor of WVWC 55-50 for the first time on the afternoon. WV Wesleyan owned the frame 21-10, to hold a 58-55 lead with 10 minutes to play.
 
The fourth quarter was back and forth as the Bobcats claimed a quick basket before the Falcons created a 6-0 run to lead 61-60, as Lilee Carlson found Rachel Richardson on the fastbreak with 7:24 left to play. Next, WV Wesleyan went on a 6-0 run of their own to move back ahead, 66-61 with 5:06 on the clock. Over the remaining five minutes, the Notre Dame College defense forced WVWC into 0-8 shooting from the floor, including zero points, as the Falcons stormed back to win 69-66. Weathers sealed the victory with a pair of important free throws, capping off a pivotal 8-0 run.

"The energy and buying into each other, having that trust, since we have been working for these moment and working these possessions," stated Macer. "We came out hot, we came out strong, we dropped off a little bit. But they came together and really just fought this game."
 
As aforementioned, Weathers posted a team-high 16 points, alongside McDaniel with 14, and Harris with 13. Richardson dished out a team-high four assists.
 
On the glass, McDaniel cleaned a career-high 10 boards, en route to her first career double-double. Weathers added seven rebounds, with Harris claiming five.

"She was crashing hard, she was boxing out. That is good to see from a guard, for her to go out there and make plays off the rebounds," said Macer happily when asked about McDaniel's performance. "Offensively, being able to be a threat, knowing when her teammates are open, knowing when its her turn. Again, it really is believing in us and buying into finding that open person and making a good play."
 
Defensively, Weathers tied a career-high with three blocks, as Hayley St. John swiped a pair of steals.
 
As a team, Notre Dame shot 24-66 (36.4%) from the floor, 7-23 (30.4%) from three, and 14-21 (66.7%) from the free throw line. The Falcons added 42 rebounds, 15 assists, five steals, four blocks and nine turnovers, their best mark of the season. WVWC shot 22-56 (39.3%) from the floor, 10-24 (41.7%) from three and 12-16 (75.0%) from the free throw line, to go along with 36 rebounds, 16 assists, three steals and one blocks. The Falcons dominated the points in the paint with 34 to 16, including 17 fastbreak points to six.
 
The Notre Dame College women's basketball team will take a brief hiatus during the holiday season, as the Falcons are back in action on Saturday, Dec. 30 at 1 p.m. with Tiffin University entering Murphy Gymnasium.