WHEELING, W.Va. – Kicking the Mountain East Conference Tournament off with a bang, No. 10 Notre Dame College (11-18) and No. 7 Glenville State University (18-11) produced fireworks inside WesBanco Arena for the first round. Trailing by as many as 12 points with less than four minutes remaining, NDC closed the contest on a 17-5 run to force overtime, before upsetting GSU, 82-78. Junior Lilee Carlson fueled the fight, tying a season-high 28 points on an efficient 8-12 shooting from the floor. The Falcons have now won back-to-back games against the Pioneers, after  having not claimed a victory over GSU since 2016. Furthermore, the Falcons have now won a postseason game in four of the last five seasons. 
 
"It was powerful, the girls really just fought," mentioned head coach Lauren Macer post-game. "It was ugly, it was scrappy, but they really stuck together and made the plays when they counted. I'm so proud of them."
 
A frantically paced contest saw Notre Dame take an early 7-0 lead, as the Falcons held the Pioneers scoreless until the 5:00 minute mark in the first quarter. NDC maintained a lead throughout the entire period as Carlson tallied a game-high eight points to carry Notre Dame to an 18-15 edge.
 
Glenville State grabbed their first lead on a three-pointer with 7:15 left in the half (20-18). Notre Dame answer later in the frame, utilizing a 10-1 scoring run to move in front 30-24 at the 2:02 mark. The Falcons carried a 31-28 edge into the break as Carlson continued to be efficient and effective for NDC with a game-high 12 points on 2-3 shooting from the floor (7-8 FTs).
 
Notre Dame dominated the first half by holding a lead for more than 75-percent (15:12) of the stanza. The Falcons got the job done on the defensive side of the ball, holding the Pioneers to 25.0-percent shooting from the field and 13.3-percent shooting from beyond the arc.
 
In the second half, NDC reestablished a six-point lead (41-35) at the midway point in the period, as Karli Anker knocked down a three-pointer. However, Glenville State found their groove and flipped the script with an 11-1 run to lead 46-42, before taking a 48-46 edge into the fourth.
 
GSU's run stretched into the fourth quarter, as the Pioneers led 62-50 with less than four minutes to play. Next, Notre Dame continued to fight like they have all season long. The Falcons produced an electric 17-5 run over the final 3:50, punctuated by Noel Weathers game-tying layup with 10 seconds remaining (67-67).
 
"We know Glenville is solid. We know they get really hot. We know they thrive off of forcing teams to turn the ball over. We know they thrive off of scoring the three," said Macer. "We have really worked hard this year at improving and we have been down before, but we have comeback before. We have been in a lot of close games so I think our team as whole knew that if we can get close, then we can finish it out. That comes from the trust that they have developed and built over the year… Our girls really just battled and finished strong."
 
In the overtime period, the shots started to fall as the two sides exchanged baskets in rapid succession, producing four lead changes within the first two minutes. Over the final three minutes of play, Notre Dame took control of the match and held Glenville State to only two points scored. With the Falcons trailing 76-73, NDC generated a pivotal 9-2 run to close out the contest, and complete the comeback, 82-78.
 
Carlson turned in a season-high 28 points on 8-12 shooting from the floor (2-2 3FG) and 10-12 shooting from the free throw line. In addition, Anker joined in with 18 points, alongside Weathers with 15.
 
"It was really just next play mentality," stated Carlson. "Glenville has a lot of pressure, so all week we were saying to focus on the next play and value the ball, which we didn't do very well. But we were there to pick each other up and move onto the next play and get back on defense."
 
Notre Dame did most of their damage on the glass, neutralizing the pressure from Glenville State by out-rebounding the Pioneers by 13, including corralling 56 rebounds, tied for the 10^th most in a game in NDC program history (most since Mar. 3, 2016).
 
"That's what it took, effort," said Macer simply when asked about the rebounding. "We were focused and disciplined. We knew that Glenville loved to get the offensive boards, they love to get the open threes, they need those extra possessions. Our focus was truly on everyone doing their job and putting a body on someone and going to the ball with two hands. It was definitely a key for us, and the girls know from playing them the first time, to the second time, and now seeing them again, that it is crucial to having success against them."
 
Individually, Weathers totaled a game-high 13 boards, to register her team-leading 10^th double-double of the season. The Second Team All-MEC honoree has brought down 269 rebounds this season, the sixth-most in a single season in program history. Anker contributed to the rebounding effort with eight boards, while Hayley St. John secured six.
 
Defensively, Carlson blocked a game-high two shots, while five Falcons posted multiple steals, led by Rachel Richardson's team-high three.
 
As a team, Notre Dame shot 25-52 (48.1%) from the floor, 6-16 (37.5%) from three and 26-38 (68.4%) from the free throw line. The Falcons added the aforementioned 56 rebounds, 10 assists, 13 steals and five blocks. Moreover, 26 free throws made are tied of the 10^th most in program history, and the most since earlier this season when NDC tallied 28 against GSU.
 
With the win, Notre Dame College moves onto the quarterfinals of the MEC Tournament, as the Falcons will face No. 2 West Virginia State University at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, WV, tomorrow, Thursday Mar. 7 at noon.