By Kendrick Jackson, Advertising Manager
Notre Dame (Ohio) will travel to the hilltop this Saturday to matchup against our Lady Toppers. For West Liberty, this hasn’t been the start that newly hired head coach, Kyle Cooper, was hoping for. WLU will look to get back on track and win against one of the top teams in the Mountain East Conference (MEC).
As of Nov. 26, women’s basketball is 2-4 for the season. However, our Lady Toppers did earn a win in our conference matchup against West Virginia Wesleyan, and lost by only seven points to California University (Pa.), currently No. 4 in the nation.
Last season’s three-point champion, McKenna Shives, hasn’t looked herself early on this season. Her points per game (PPG) and three-point field goal percentage are down from last season. As of Nov. 28, Shives is averaging 11.2 PPG and shooting 28.6 percent from three, which is significantly down from the 14.4 PPG and 33.2 percent she was averaging last year.
As of Nov. 26, starting forward, Marissa Brown, is currently leading the team in points this season with 19.2 PPG. This is a huge jump from the 12.7 PPG Brown averaged last season. Brown scored a season-high 28 points against Slippery Rock University, going 10 for 10 at the foul line.
Notre Dame has started off the season on the high note. As of Nov. 26, the Lady Falcons of Notre Dame are 4-2, including 2-0 in conference play. Notre Dame also played two exhibition games against Division I teams, Akron University and Ohio University.
Second-year guard, Seina Adachi, is the leading scorer for the Lady Falcons early on in the season. Adachi is averaging 16 PPG, and scored a season-high 28 points against Daemen College. Adachi is also shooting 42.1 percent from three.
Last season, Notre Dame took both games against West Liberty. Our Lady Toppers look to upset Notre Dame this Saturday as WLU has not won a game against the Lady Falcons since the 2015-2016 season.
Tipoff is at 2 p.m., with coverage at WLUTV-14. These two teams will not meet again until spring on Feb. 21, 2018 in South Euclid, Ohio.
Photo Credit: Hilltoppersports.com
