BUCKHANNON, W. Va. – A red-hot shooting fourth quarter, fueled by Karli Anker's season-high 19 points not enough for the Notre Dame College women's basketball team (5-14, 2-10 MEC) at West Virginia Wesleyan College (5-11, 3-9 MEC) on Wednesday evening. The Falcons shot 56.3-percent from the field, including 80.0-percent (4-5) from beyond the arc in the period, but fell to the Bobcats 64-59.
 
Following a defensive battle early, Anker started the scoring at the 7:52 mark with a three-pointer (3-0). Next, Lilee Carlson took over and scored seven consecutive points for the Falcons, and forced a Bobcat timeout with NDC in front 10-4 halfway through the frame. WVWC quickly knotted the contest at 10-10, before Notre Dame found back-to-back baskets by Izabella Zirzow and Cencere McDaniel at the end of the quarter (16-12).
 
WV Wesleyan opened the second quarter on a 10-1 run, flipping the score 22-17 at the 6:29 mark. The Falcons chipped away at the Bobcat lead, before regaining the advantage 26-22 on a Noel Weathers three-pointer and McDaniel layup. At halftime, WVWC held a narrow one-point lead after a buzzer-beater (27-26).
 
NDC started the third quarter slow, as WVWC stretched their lead to 36-28 following a 9-1 run over the first four minutes of play. The two sides exchanged baskets into the final period with the Bobcats ahead 43-35.
 
In the fourth quarter, WV Wesleyan opened a 47-35 advantage, before Notre Dame clawed their way back into the contest. WVWC saw their lead cut in half (53-47) after Weathers completed the old-fashion three-point play with 4:33 remaining in the game. Over the final four minutes of play, Anker caught fire by knocking down three, three-pointers, and totaling 12 of her team-high 19 points, as the junior kept NDC within striking distance. Despite pulling to within three-points with 24 seconds remaining, the Falcons fell on the road 64-59.
 
As aforementioned, Anker generated a team-high and season-high 19 points, including four three-pointers. Carlson added 16 points, as Weathers totaled 10 and McDaniel tallied eight.
 
On the glass, Weathers registered her team-leading fifth double-double of the season, as the sophomore corralled a game-high 10 rebounds. In addition, Izabella Zirzow chipped in a season-high nine.
 
Defensively, Weathers swatted a game-high three shots, as the Mt. Healthy High School product now has 42 blocks on the season, the fourth-most in the NDC single season history, including the most since the 1996-97 season.
 
Notre Dame shot 21-51 (41.2%) from the floor, 7-20 (35.0%) from three and 10-15 (66.7%) from the free throw line. The Falcons added 34 rebounds, five assists, five steals and four blocks.
 
The Notre Dame College women's basketball team will be back in action on Saturday Feb. 3, at 2 p.m. as Davis & Elkins enters Murphy Gymnasium.