On the mark
Falcons take down Arrows in overtime clash, 95-91

PEPPER PIKE, Ohio – Down, but not out. With five minutes to play Tuesday night in the second meeting this season between Notre Dame and Ursuline, the Falcons found themselves down 13 points on the road. The Arrow's Whitney Blackburn had just drilled a three to put Ursuline up, 82-69.

While the 17-3 Notre Dame Falcons haven't been behind often this season, Tuesday night's American Mideast Conference (AMC) tilt was different. Just last week, NDC trailed UC by 10 at halftime (47-37) on their own home court. On that night (Jan. 21), the NDC Women would gut out a come-from-behind victory to maintain a winning streak. Tuesday in Pepper Pike, the Falcons reprised their late game heroics to come back and beat their eastside rivals again, 95-91 in overtime.

With the come-from-behind win, Notre Dame (17-3, 7-0) remains unbeaten in the North Division of the American Mideast Conference (AMC). Ursuline (10-12, 3-5) falls to 3-5 in the North.

On Tuesday evening, senior guard Diona Graham (Cleveland Heights, Oh.) led the home Arrows to a 45-40 halftime lead. The 5-foot-5 veteran dominated the first period with 11 points, six boards, six assists, and three steals.

Ursuline built that lead to double digits (54-44) by the 17-minute mark in the second. They maintained that advantage for the next 10 minutes or so, and their lead peaked at 5:04 when Blackburn hit her fifth trey of the night to run the UC advantage to 13 (82-69). Blackburn, one of the leading 3-point shooters in the nation, would finish with 20 points.

In the remaining five minutes in regulation, Ursuline would commit six turnovers and go 0-for-5 from the field. Notre Dame quickly got back in the game after Blackburn's 3-pointer; in the next minute-and-a-half, junior guard Molly Baker (Avon Lake, Oh.) scored seven points to cut the UC advantage to six, 82-76.

NDC took advantage of Ursuline miscues in what became a frenzied, physical finish. Tallies by Jamie Henry (Jr/Garfield Heights, Oh.) and Ashley Carney (Jr/Solon, Oh.) would eventually knot the score at 84-84. That was the score at the end of regulation after Carney misfired on a last second shot in which she was injured, coming down on the leg of an Arrow defender. Carney did not return in the overtime period.

In the extra frame, it was uncontested 15-foot shooting that played the biggest factor in determining the outcome of a game that saw a combined 50 fouls and 71 foul shots. Sophomore guard Amanda Brown (Vienna, Va.) scored seven points in overtime, two of which came at the charity stripe with 1.9 seconds remaining. Those two tosses gave NDC the final 95-91 advantage. Brown scored 17 for the game.

The Arrows, meanwhile, were just 3-of-8 from the line in the overtime period. They shot just 48.4 percent (15-for-31) from the line for the game.

Diona Graham led the Arrows' effort for the game; she missed a triple-double by one assist, compiling a 26-12-9 line (points-rebounds-assists).Ursuline shot 38.6 percent (34-for-88) from the floor.

Notre Dame shot 36.6 percent (30-for-82). They were led by Brown and Carney, who each finished with 17 points. Neither team was able to capitalize on their outside game. The Falcons shot just 22.7 percent (5-for-22) from beyond the 3-point arc. The Arrows shot 25.8 percent (8-for-31).

The victory sends Notre Dame into their next game, at Malone Saturday Feb. 2, with an eight-game win streak in tow. Tip-off in the Falcons-Pioneers tilt Saturday is slated for 5:30pm.

NOTES FROM THE NEST ...

STREAKY: Notre Dame's eight-game winning streak is the longest for NDC Women's Basketball since the program won 11 straight from Dec. 2, 2004 to Jan. 11, 2005. That 11-game streak stands as the longest in program history. ... The victory also extended a series streak - the Falcons have defeated the Arrows in 17 straight games. That encompasses the entire eight-year history of the eastside rivalry - UC has never beaten NDC.

1-2 PUNCH: The victory for the Falcons keeps them in the race for the top spot in the AMC North. Notre Dame came into Tuesday's action trailing the Lady Wildcats of Daemen College (NY) by a half game in the standings. After Tuesday's conference action, that half-game cushion still exists. Daemen topped the North Division's third place team (Roberts Wesleyan-NY) Tuesday, 66-59 to run their division mark to 8-0. ... NDC and Daemen will square off Feb. 9 in Amherst, N.Y. and on the last day of the regular season, Feb. 23, in South Euclid.

STILL SOARING: With their 95 points Tuesday, the Falcons continued their recent high-scoring exploits. NDC has now scored 284 points over their last three contests. Notre Dame came into the game ranked first in the AMC and eighth in the nation in scoring, at 79.9 points per game. The Falcons have now scored over 85 points in five of their last six.