This Week: The Notre Dame College women's basketball team will head to Wesbanco Arena in Wheeling, W.Va. for the annual Mountain East Conference Tournament. The Falcons will play in the first round against Concord University on Wednesday Mar. 1 beginning at noon.
 
Tournament Central: To get more information on the MEC Tournament, click here.
 
Tickets: To buy tickets, click here.
 
MEC Tournament: The Falcons and Mountain Lions kick off the 2023 MEC Tournament with their first-round matchup at noon on Wednesday, followed by Davis & Elkins vs. Frostburg State to close out the opening round. The quarterfinals begin on Thursday Mar. 2, with the winner of NDC/CU set to face West Virginia State University starting at noon. Next, Charleston will play Wheeling, followed by Glenville State vs. the winner of D&E/FSU, and wrapped up with Fairmont State against West Liberty in the night cap. On Saturday, Mar. 4 both semifinal matchups will take place, before the Mountain East Tournament Champion is crowned on Sunday Mar. 5 at 2 p.m. The winner of the MEC Tournament receives an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
 
Records: NDC rounded out the regular season at 7-21 (6-16 MEC) and seeded 10^th in the Mountain East Conference. CU closed out the year with a 12-16 (9-13 MEC) record and in seventh place in the MEC.
 
Coaches Corner: Imani Gordon is in her second season as the head coach of Notre Dame College, holding a career record of 22-35.
 
Rankings: Neither team is ranked according to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Poll.
 
Series History: Notre Dame is 15-5 all-time when facing Concord University, dating back to their first meeting in 2013-14, and including CU's pair of victories this season. On Dec. 3, the Mountain Lions bested the Falcons 77-64 in Athens, W.Va., before CU took the season series on Jan. 25 in South Euclid, Ohio, with a 67-50 final score.
 
Last season, the Falcons and Mountain Lions also drew each other in the MEC Tournament as the number five and four seeded teams. On Mar. 3, 2022 in the quarterfinal round, NDC pulled off the slight upset of CU 69-59, to advance into last year's semifinal round.
 
Noting the Falcons: Notre Dame finished off their regular season by going 1-1 during the final week of play. On Wednesday, NDC fell 78-61 to West Liberty as sophomore Lilee Carlson paced the squad with a team-high 16 points on the night. On Saturday, the Falcons grabbed a must-win game at Alderson Broaddus on the last day of the regular season 74-66, to ensure a spot in the MEC Tournament. Junior Lizzie Imrie propelled NDC into the postseason as she tallied a game-high and career-high 20 points in the contest.
 
All-MEC Honorable Mention performer Alana Ellis, highlights Notre Dame as the Falcons head into tournament time. The redshirt sophomore ranks 12^th in the MEC in scoring by averaging 15.6 points per game. Along with leading the Falcons in scoring, Ellis totals the most field goals made (118) and most field goals attempted (325) on the team).
 
Enjoying a fruitful freshman campaign, Noel Weathers has been NDC's second-leading scorer at 11.0 ppg, while pacing the team in field goal percentage (47.8%) and rebounding (7.0). The Cincinnati, Ohio native has posted a team-high four double-doubles on the year, as she ranks 11^th in the MEC in rebounds per game.
 
Senior Marina Adachi has come on strong for Notre Dame down the stretch run, scoring in double figures nine of the last 11 games, including a career-high 30 points back on Feb. 4 against Davis & Elkins. The Seneca East High School product averages 10.6 ppg and has been the Falcons top threat from behind the arc, with team-highs in three-pointers made (50), three-pointers attempted (128) and three-point percentage (39.1%). The veteran is also lights-out from the charity stripe by shooting 90 percent (36-40).
 
Junior Lizzie Imrie has added support for NDC from a multitude of different avenues, by leading the team in assists (49) and being second in rebounding (5.2), while scoring 8.3 ppg. The Nordonia High School product ranks tied 22^nd in the league in rebounding and tied for 24^th in assists.
 
On the year, Notre Dame averages 63.0 ppg on 37.8 percent shooting from the floor, 29.2 percent shooting from three and 69.7 percent shooting from the free throw line. The Falcons grab 32.7 rebounds per game (-8.4 margin), 10.1 assists per game, 8.2 steals per game and 2.8 blocks per game. NDC is one of five MEC teams to boast a positive turnover margin (+0.86).
 
Noting the Mountain Lions: Concord University enters the MEC Tournament after splitting the final week of the regular season with the top teams in the conference. On Wednesday, the Mountain Lions upset WV State 82-71 at home, Maggie Guynn tallied a team-high 18 points, as Nakaila Gray generated 15 points and 11 rebounds. On Saturday, CU narrowly lost to No. 4 Glenville State 86-81, despite Jaisah Smith's team-high 25 points.
 
Abbie Smith leads a balanced scoring attack for the Mountain Lions, checking in at 13.1 ppg, ranking 17^th in the MEC. J. Smith (12.4) and Guynn (11.7) also score in double figures for CU, ranking 20^th and tied for 23^rd in the MEC. All three Mountain Lions boast 100 or more made field goals, 250 or more shots taken and 75 or more made free throws on the year.
 
Moreover, Abbie Smith leads the team with 140 made field goals at 54.3 percent shooting from the floor. Smith is third in the league in field goal percentage and eighth in rebounds.
 
Jaisah Smith flashes the top assist (76) and steal (54) marks for Concord, ranking 12^th and ninth in the MEC respectively.
 
Guynn is the team's top shooting threat, posting team-highs in three pointers made (39), three-pointers attempted (111), three-point percentage (35.1%) and free throw percentage (80.9%).
 
As a team, Concord averages 69.0 ppg on 40.0 percent shooting from the field, 28.2 percent shooting from three and 73.2 percent shooting from the free throw line. The Mountain Lions add 40.7 rpg (+4.4 margin), 12.5 apg, 8.4 spg and 2.8 bpg. CU corrals the third-most rebounds in the league, while flashing the second-best rebounding margin.