WHEELING, W.Va. – Leaving everything out on the floor in the MEC Quarterfinals, No. 10 Notre Dame College (11-19) battled No. 2 West Virginia State University (20-9) for the entire 40 minutes, including outscoring the WVSU in both the second and fourth quarters. However, the Falcons postseason run came to a close, 77-64. Sophomore Noel Weathers tallied a game-high 17 points on 8-9 (88.9%) shooting from the floor.
 
"We knew this game was going to be a challenge, West Virginia State finished second in the league for a reason" mentioned head coach Lauren Macer post-game. "We knew we had to be on, both offensively and defensively. But I am proud of our team. We had really good moments where we strung together good possessions on offense, and we got a few stops in a row. But we just had a couple of slips and they capitalized on it because they have that experience on their team."
 
The first quarter started slow as WV State began the scoring on a layup with 7:32 left in the period. The Yellow Jackets controlled the boards for the first 10 minutes of play to lead 26-11 after one.
 
The second quarter saw Notre Dame get into their groove, including outscoring WV State 18-16 in the frame. With the Falcons trailing 34-16 with seven minutes left in the half, NDC opened a 13-6 scoring run, capped off by a pair of fast break layups by Mallory Hullinger and Cencere McDaniel to force a Yellow Jacket timeout (40-29). The first half concluded after a pair of WVSU free throws, 42-29.
 
Notre Dame continued to fight into the second half as Weathers knocked down a three-pointer on the first possession (42-32). The Falcons clawed back into the contest, trimming the Yellow Jacket lead to single digits (49-40) after Rachel Richardson drove to the hoop and scored. However, despite the continuous effort from NDC, WV State caught fire to close out the third quarter, owning a 13-2 run to lead 65-45 with 10 minutes remaining.
 
The Falcons effort was relentless in the fourth quarter, as NDC outscored WVSU 19-12 in the frame. Staring at a deficit as large as 22 points with eight minutes left, Notre Dame anchored down and refused to give in. NDC produced a 17-8 run to close the game, as the Falcons valiantly fell to WV State, 77-64.
 
When asked about the team's effort all season, Macer said confidently, "I am proud of them. It is tough, it's 40 minutes and you have to play for 40. You're not always going to play your best, but you have to compete at a high level. I think us as coaches have challenged them and I think they have rose to that challenge. From last year to this year, the improvement across the board. Their shooting percentage, us rebounding as a whole, our wins as a whole, there has been so much growth. I do think it is tough to play two games back-to-back… but not one time did the girls complain about it, they just accepted the challenge. So just the growth that we have done since the beginning of day one, that buy in, that commitment, is all that you can ask for as a coach."
 
To Macer's point, just 24 hours prior, Notre Dame erased a 12-point deficit with less than four minutes remaining against the reigning MEC Champions in Glenville State. Notre Dame resiliently upset the Pioneers in overtime, 82-78 after GSU had made the final four a year ago, including becoming national champions in 2022. A truly remarkable victory for Macer and the Falcons who have shown the entire season that they will play for the entire 40 minutes. As a matter of fact, NDC has outscored their opponents during the fourth quarter this season by a total of 42 points, as the frame marks NDC's highest scoring quarter on average (19.7 points per fourth quarter).
 
On the day, Weathers paced Notre Dame with a game-high 17 points on an extremely efficient 8-9 shooting (88.9%) from the floor. Moreover, 88.9-percent shooting from the field is tied for the third-most efficient mark in NDC single game history. In addition, Lilee Carlson contributed 15 points, while McDaniel tallied nine and Richardson registered eight. The Falcons saw McDaniel, Richardson and Hayley St. John facilitate the offense with a pair of assists each.
 
On the glass, McDaniel posted a team-high six rebounds, while Carlson corralled five and Richardson, Weathers and Izabella Zirzow owned four apiece. Furthermore, Weathers has now amassed 273 rebounds on the season, the fourth-most in NDC single season history.
 
Defensively, Kennadi Harris rejected a season-high two shots, while Carlson and McDaniel recorded a pair of steals each.
 
As a team, Notre Dame shot 25-54 (46.3%) from the floor, 6-20 (30.0%) from three and 8-13 (61.5%) from the free throw line. The Falcons added 36 rebounds, 10 assists, nine steals and four blocks.