SALEM, W.Va. – Trailing 52-42 with just under eight minutes to play, the Notre Dame College women's basketball team (5-13) closed the contest on a 23-6 run, including holding Salem University (3-15) scoreless for more than four minutes, as the Falcons bested the Tigers 65-58 on Saturday afternoon. The game featured multiple momentum swings which saw both sides own double-digit leads over the course of the contest.
Notre Dame came out of the gate firing on all cylinders, as
Noel Weathers aided the Falcons to an 18-2 lead thanks to seven early points. NDC's defensive prowess allowed the Falcons to hold an 18-6 edge after the first quarter, as Salem was halted to 3-18 (16.7%) shooting from the floor and 0-6 shooting from three in the frame.
SU clawed back into the contest as a pair of free throws at the midway point in the period capped off a 17-2 Tiger run, trimming the Notre Dame lead to one (20-19). Next,
Kennadi Harris drained a three-pointer to gift the Falcons a 27-21 advantage with 2:19 left in the half. A quick 8-0 run by Salem to end the stanza, allowed the Tigers to lead the Falcons 29-27 at the break.
In the third quarter, the Falcons picked up the lead (30-29) on a layup by
Lilee Carlson at the 7:42 mark. However, Salem produced a 15-4 run to hold a 44-34 lead with 3:14 left in the third. SU carried a 47-40 lead into the final period, but not after a momentum-shifting buzzer-beater from the mid-court logo by
Nadia Jackson.
Jackson's buzzer-beater fueled the Falcons fourth quarter come back as NDC outscored SU 25-11 in the final frame. Trailing 52-42 with 7:56 left to play, NDC opened a crucial 14-4 run over the next four minutes to knot the contest at 56-56. With less than two minutes to play, Carlson drove the lane and scored, gifting Notre Dame the lead once again at 58-56. The Falcons defense held the Tigers scoreless from the 4:53 mark until less than 10 seconds left in game, including surrendering just six points over the last eight minutes in the game. The Falcons shot 12-14 from the charity stripe in the fourth, as clutch free throw shooting sealed the deal, 65-58 NDC.
A trio of Falcons in Weathers (13), Carlson (12) and
Rachel Richardson (10) found their way into double figures on the afternoon, while Zirzow (9) and
Karli Anker (8) also contributed offensively.
On the glass, Weathers hauled in a team-high seven rebounds, while
Nadia Jackson (season-high) and Zirzow corralled five apiece.
Defensively, Weathers swatted a game-high three shots, as the sophomore now totals 39 blocked shots on the season. 39 blocks are the fourth-most in a season in NDC program history, including the most in a campaign since Joni DePiore in 1996-97. In addition, Zirzow registered a season-high two blocks.
As a team, Notre Dame shot 22-56 (39.3%) from the floor, 4-17 (23.5%) from three and 17-23 (73.9%) from the free throw line. The Falcons added 40 rebounds, eight assists, five steals and six blocks.
The Notre Dame College women's basketball team will be back in action on Wednesday Jan. 31 at 5:30 p.m. as the Falcons continue their road trip at West Virginia Wesleyan College.
