LANGHORNE, Pa. – Notre Dame of Maryland traveled to Cairn University Thursday night in Colonial States Athletic Conference action. In a hard fought game right to the end, the Gators came up just short to the Highlanders, 56-53.
In the first quarter, the Gators got off to a slow start, falling behind 5-0 in the opening four minutes of play. Sophomore
Adrianna Fletcher got Notre Dame on the board, downing a basket from three-point range, Gators down 3-5.
After regaining a four-point lead, senior
Justine Mudiay downed a three with under two to play to get back within two, 8-9. Cairn scored the final five points of the quarter to take a 14-8 lead going into the second.
In the second, Notre Dame started to chip away at the Highlander lead. With just over three-minutes left in the half, Fletcher downed another three to tie up the game at 21 apiece.
After a layup by Cairn on the opposite end, freshman
Daija Fitchett posted a layup assisted by freshman
Vanessa Dunn to see the score tied for a second time with just over two minutes in the half left to play.
The Gators and Highlanders traded three-pointers in the final minutes to see the score tied at 26. A last second free-throw by Mudiay gave the Gators a narrow lead going into halftime, 27-26.
In the third quarter, both teams battled, taking shot for shot. In the third quarter alone, there were seven lead changes and three tied scores. Fitchett posted six points in the third, while the Gators went 6-for-12 from the floor.
The last score of the third quarter came with just under two minutes to play when Mudiay scored from three-point range to give the Gators a 40-39 lead going into the final quarter.
To open the fourth, Cairn went on a 10-1 run to retake the lead. With just over five minutes to play, the Gators were faced with a nine-point deficit, 52-43.
In the next four and a half minutes, Notre Dame went off, going on a 10-2 run with another three-pointer from Mudiay to get the Gators back within one. In their 10-2 run, Notre Dame was 3-for-6 from the floor and 2-for-2 from three-point range.
In the final seconds of the game, Cairn posted one more score to keep the game out of reach. Notre Dame fell to the Highlanders, 56-53.
Three-players scored in double figures against Cairn led by Fletcher with 14. She had four three-pointers and six rebounds. She shot 4-for-7 from three-point range and 5-for-10 from the floor.
Fitchett finished the night with 13 points and led the team with eight rebounds. She was 6-for-9 from the floor and also had two assists.
Mudiay knocked in three three-pointers, while finishing the game with 12 points. Dunn and senior
Justice Walrath also had significant minutes for the Gators with Dunn going 3-for-6 from the floor with two threes' and Walrath again leading the team in assists with five.
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Gators will host Centenary University on Saturday in their third conference game of the week. Earlier in the season, Notre Dame defeated the Cyclones, 56-46.
