TOWSON, MD — The Notre Dame of Maryalnd Gators closed out 2025 with a hard fought come from behind win, topping the Goucher Gophers 59–55 in a hard-fought contest on New Years Eve. The Gators improve to 4-6 on the season as they prepare to get into the main part of the conference schedule.

The game started out badly for the Gators as they spotted a 12-0 run to Goucher before Marecia Barnett hit a three pointer to get NDM on the scoreboard. Raina Burns was aggressive throughout the first quarter, scoring the final 10 points for the Gators in the the quarter.

Trailing 18-13 after the first quarter, Notre Dame of Maryland kept grinding and were able to cut it down to a two point deficit at the halftime intermission with Amani Watts making a couple of nice layups early on.

The second half saw the Gators get their first lead of the game as Barnett splashed an early three pointer. After Goucher regained the lead on a three pointer, the Gators started a 9-0 run with Barnett hitting another long ranger gave NDM a six point lead after three quarters.

The fourth quarter saw Goucher answer back with an 11-0 run, but it was again Barnett hitting a three pointer that stopped the Gophers' momentum. Watts followed up with a layup to tie the game at 48-48 with six minutes left. With the Gators down three with three minutes left, Yasmeen Yussuf nailed a midrange jumper from the corner. Madison Simmons attacked the lane and put in a floater to take the lead followed by Barnett hitting one more three to put the icing on the cake.

Barnett carried the load offensively, pouring in 20 points on 7-of-18 shooting (including 6-of-14 from three) and grabbing 11 rebounds for her first double-double as a Gator. Meanwhile, Watts added a valuable 13 points off 5-of-11 from the floor, chipping in 8 boards.

The Gators' 59-point output came on 33.9% shooting, including a mixed 26.1% from three, but they made their free throws when it counted (15- of-23). On defense, they held Goucher to 29.5 % shooting overall and forced turnovers that led to 11 points off miscues. 

NDM will get back into United East Conference play next when they host Penn College on Saturday, January 3 at 3 PM. This is the first meeting between the two programs in the modern era of record keeping. Penn is currently 9-4 on the season and 1-0 in conference play after a 61-58 win over Penn State Abington.