SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – An early onslaught was enough cushion for Urbana in Saturday's 91-70 upset victory over No. 24 Notre Dame College inside NDC's Murphy Gymnasium.
It's been six years since UU last won in South Euclid as the Blue Knights improved to 12-6 overall and 8-4 in league play. Notre Dame (16-2, 10-2 MEC), which entered as the top team in the MEC, had its 10-game win streak snapped and suffered its first loss since Dec. 4.
The trio of
Tyra James,
Sylvia Hudson and
Kami McEldowney combined for 75 points to lead the Blue Knights.
James continued to exercise her dominance over the MEC with 29 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the field and 8 of 10 at the line, while grabbing 18 rebounds. She is now averaging a double-double on the season with 22.9 ppg and 10.0 rpg. This week alone, James averaged 27.5 points and 19.5 boards.
Hudson logged her 32nd career double-double with 22 points and 16 rebounds. The senior forward surpassed 1,600 career points where she sits third in school history (1,621) and 154 points shy of breaking the record.
McEldowney poured in a career-high 24 points with a hot hand from beyond the arc. The sophomore knocked down the third-most three's in school history on 7-of-10 shooting from three-point range. She had five treys in the first half.
As a team, UU shot lights out from three-point range, including 4 of 6 in the first quarter, and knocked down the most treys (12) in a game since Dec. 9, 2017 against West Virginia State.
The Blue Knights raced out to a 30-13 lead after one period and extended the lead in the early portion of the second. However, the Falcons climbed back with a 12-0 run to make it a seven-point game with the score 32-25 at the 4:41 mark.
A McEldowney trey ended NDC's run and sparked another surge for the Blue Knights, who outscored the Falcons 20-0 over the final four-plus minutes. UU was in complete control heading into the break ahead by a 52-25 margin. The Blue Knights limited the Falcons to a combined 28.9 percent shooting mark while James led the Blue and Grey with a double-double at halftime.
In the third,
Kasey Knippen drilled a three midway through the period as the Blue Knight lead swelled to 36 points at 70-34.
But, the Falcons didn't go quietly.
Feeding off a raucous home crowd in the close quarters of the Murphy Gym, Notre Dame stormed back on a 29-7 run over a span of 10-plus minutes to get within 13 with four minutes remaining in the game. UU had 10 turnovers during the stretch, but that would be as close as the Falcons could get as the Blue Knights led the entire game.
Notre Dame shot 52 percent combined over the third and fourth quarters while Urbana was held to just over 40 percent.
NDC's Jada Marone led the hosts with 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Leading scorer Seina Adachi was held to 14 points and only one made 3-pointer on nine attempts.
The Blue Knights and Falcons will meet again for the regular season finale on Feb. 29 in Urbana.
UP NEXT: UU returns home Wednesday night against Glenville State for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff in Grimes Center. The Pioneers (13-4, 9-2 MEC) host Concord on Sunday afternoon.
