SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – It came down to the wire inside Murphy Gymnasium on Wednesday evening, as Notre Dame College (8-15, 5-11 MEC) had the ball in a one-possession game in the final seconds. However, the Falcons fell to the Golden Eagles of Charleston (14-9, 10-6 MEC), 62-59.
 
NDC came out of the gate firing, as the Falcons made 50.0-percent (8-16) of their shots from the field in the first quarter. With the score tied at 9-9, Notre Dame opened a 10-1 run, capped off by a Lilee Carlson layup, assisted by Cencere McDaniel (19-10). Carlson continued to cook in the first period, tallying nine points as NDC led 21-14 after the first ten minutes of play.
 
UC started the second quarter on a 9-0 run to move in front 23-21 with 6:53 remaining in the half. Trailing 30-25 with 3:27 left in the quarter, NDC anchored down defensively and knotted the contest by halftime, 30-30. McDaniel knocked down a three-pointer, followed by a Hayley St. John layup.
 
In the second half, Charleston jumped ahead 39-33 at the 5:36 mark, before Notre Dame quickly answered. Kennadi Harris and St. John each made a three-pointer to tie the game at 39-39 with 4:35 to play in the third quarter. UC carried a 48-43 edge into the final quarter of play.
 
In the fourth quarter, the Golden Eagles opened a 57-45 lead with 5:59 left to play. Next, Weathers and Falcons battled back into the contest as the sophomore totaled six points, six rebounds and three blocks in the final period of play. A pair of baskets by Weathers fueled a 9-0 run over the next four and a half minutes, pulling Notre Dame back within one possession, 57-54. After a made three-pointer by Kennadi Harris with 19 seconds left, a pair of missed UC free throws gave NDC the ball back with a chance to tie. However, in the end, the Falcons fell to the Golden Eagles despite a valiant comeback, 62-59.
 
A balanced offensive output saw four Falcons record double figures, with Carlson, Harris and Weathers each posting a team-high 11 points. In addition, St. John notched a season-high 10.
 
Carlson dished out a game-high five assists, alongside McDaniel tying a season-high with three, and Karli Anker with three.
 
On the glass, Weathers snatched a team-high seven rebounds, while Carlson brought down five and Harris secured four.
 
Defensively, four players posted multiple steals (2) in Carlson, McDaniel, Weathers and Rachel Richardson. In addition, Weathers blocked a game-high four shots, to total 52 blocks on the season, one shy of tying Joni DePiore in 1996-97 for the second-most in NDC program history.
 
As a team, Notre Dame shot 23-54 (42.6%) from the floor, 8-20 (40.0%) from three and 5-10 (50.0%) from the free throw line. The Falcons added 33 rebounds, 16 assists, 10 steals and eight blocks.
 
The Notre Dame College women's basketball team will be back in action on Saturday Feb. 17 at 2 p.m. as NDC travels to Institute, WV to face the Yellow Jackets of West Virginia State University.