SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – Erasing a double-digit fourth quarter deficit, the Notre Dame College women's basketball team (9-18, 6-14 MEC) battled back against West Liberty University(9-18, 6-13 MEC) on Wednesday evening inside Murphy Gymnasium. A late 10-1 run over the final three minutes of play, capped off by
Karli Anker's clutch free throw, delivered NDC the victory 69-68. Sophomore
Noel Weathers fueled the Falcons with a career-high 28 points and 16 rebounds.
"It was a team effort finishing with 16 assists and staying disciplined to finished the game strong," mentioned head coach
Lauren Macer when asked about the waning moments of the contest.
A flurry of scoring started the game as Notre Dame led 17-14 on a layup by Weathers at the 4:06 mark in the first quarter. Next, WLU closed the first quarter strong to lead 22-19 after one.
The Hilltopper run continued into the second quarter as West Liberty moved ahead 29-19 with 6:46 to play until halftime. Next, Weathers single-handedly pulled Notre Dame back by scoring nine of the next 11 Falcon points to bring NDC within three (33-30) with two minutes left in the half. Now with under 10 seconds remaining in the frame, redshirt junior
Kennadi Harris buried a corner three, assisted by
Nadia Jackson, as WLU led 37-33 at the break.
The third quarter was back-and-forth as NDC trimmed the WLU lead to one (37-36) at the 7:56 mark. West Liberty reestablished a seven-point edge with 4:45 remaining in the period (47-40). Quickly, Notre Dame cut back into the deficit to trial by only two points (47-45) with three minutes left in the third. NDC claimed the quarter 17-16, as the Falcons were behind 53-50 with 10 minutes to go.
In the fourth quarter, West Liberty posted an 8-0 run to lead 61-50 with under eight minutes remaining in the game. The contest went back-and-forth until the 2:30 mark with NDC trailing 67-59. Next, Notre Dame produced a 10-1 run, holding WLU without a field goal over that span to steal the victory. A pair of clutch layups by Weathers on back-to-back possessions tied the game at 68-68 with 49 seconds left. Lastly, Anker closed out the game for Notre Dame, sinking a cold-blooded free throw, to win 69-68.
As aforementioned, Weathers powered NDC with a game-high and career-high 28 points on an efficient 12-16 (75.0%) shooting from the floor. Anker added 14 points, as Carlson tallied 10,
Rachel Richardson scored eight and
Cencere McDaniel registered six.
The Falcons posted 16 assists as a team, as Carlson was the leading facilitator on the day with a game-high four dimes, alongside Richardson and McDaniel with three assists apiece.
On the glass, Weathers corralled a game-high and career-high 16 rebounds, generating her team-leading eighth double-double on the year.
"Noel's 28-16 (points-rebounds) speaks to her continuous improvement as a player and our team's willingness to play together," stated Macer.
Anker (7), Carlson (5),
Mallory Hullinger (4) and
Izabella Zirzow (4) contributed to the rebounding effort which saw Notre Dame tally a season-high 51 rebounds, their most in a game in over two years (51 vs Frostburg State on Jan. 10, 2022). The Falcons out-rebounded the Hilltoppers by 17 (51-34), another season-high mark and the largest differential since flashing a +20 margin against Davis & Elkins on Dec. 8, 2021.
"Our team committed to multiple efforts and aggressively pursed every rebound," said Macer happily.
To Macer's point, Notre Dame's relentless effort on the boards led to 19 second-chance points, compared to just five from WLU, as the Falcons dominated the points in the paint 46 to 26.
Defensively, Weathers owned a game-high two blocks, to further her NDC single season record which now stands at 62. In addition, Carlson and Hullinger recorded a team-high two steals apiece.
As a whole, Notre Dame shot 27-67 (40.3%) from the floor, 4-16 (25.0%) from three and 11-23 (47.8%) from the free throw line. The Falcons added 51 rebounds, 16 assists, seven steals and six blocks.
The Notre Dame College women's basketball team will be back in action to round out the regular season on Saturday, Mar. 2 at 2 p.m. The Falcons will host Salem University for Senior Day inside Murphy Gymnasium.
