SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio --The Notre Dame Falcons lost their third game in a row on Saturday afternoon, in front of a season-high, 348 fans at Murphy Gymnasium, as the Lady Racers of Northwestern Ohio came away with a 66-64 victory. (Box)

For the Falcons (14-11, 10-7 American Mideast), the loss was their third in a row, their fourth in their last six games, and put their chances of hosting in the first round of the American Mideast tournament in major jeopardy. The top four seeds host in the first round, and the Falcons were one game out of the fourth spot heading into Saturday's contest.

For Northwestern Ohio (17-9, 9-7), the victory was their first since Jan. 30, and it snapped a three-game losing streak. It was also their first win in four meetings against Notre Dame.

The two teams exchanged baskets and remained close in the first few minutes of the game. The two clubs then exchanged short runs, but neither team was able to pull away. Notre Dame had trouble handling the length of the Lady Racers in the game's first 20 minutes. The Falcons were out-rebounded, 28-18, in the opening stanza, but Northwestern Ohio in turn, was only able to hit on 32.5 percent (13) of their 40 shots from the field in the first half, and held a 34-33 edge, halfway through.

The Falcons were able to close the rebounding gap in the second half, but shot just 31.6 percent from the floor on 12-of-38 shooting in the game's final 20 minutes. Notre Dame scored the first few baskets in the second half to take the lead, but the Lady Racers went on a 11-0 run over the next four minutes, and took a 48-39 lead at the 14:45-mark. Northwestern Ohio had the lead for the duration of the contest. The Falcons tied things up at 64-64, after #Chelsea Andorka#'s steal led to #Yvette Hunter#'s basket with 21.4 seconds remaining. Amanda Francis buried a pair of free throws with 7.1 seconds left to seal the victory.

#Kealy McNally# paced the Falcons with 20 points, and Hunter turned in 15. Andorka filled up the stat sheet with seven points, 10 boards, three blocks and four assists. For the game, the Falcons shot 37.1 percent (26-for-70) from the floor, and shot 15.4 percent (2-for-13) from beyond the arc.

Molly French led the Lady Racers with 17 points, while Kelly Warris added 12 and Amanda Francis turned in 11. Alexa Kennedy paced Northwestern Ohio with 10 rebounds.

The Falcons will play their final home game of the season, on Tuesday, Feb. 19, when they welcome the Wildcats of Daemen (N.Y.) to College Road. Tip-off for the AMC tilt is scheduled for 6:00 pm.