CHARLESTON, W. Va. – The University of Charleston Women's Basketball team will take on the Falcons of Notre Dame College on Saturday afternoon in the Semifinal round of the MEC Tournament with tip scheduled for 2:15 p.m. at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, W. Va. The Golden Eagles head into Saturday after defeating the Falcons of Fairmont State in the Quarterfinal round by a score of 86-53. The Golden Eagles were led offensively by Anna Hayton, who finished the game with 25 points and 9 rebounds while Dakota Reeves' 20 points (6-of-12 3PT FG) passed Lindsey Kentner (2011) for the singe-season three-point mark with 92. 

Media Coverage: 
Live Stats and video feed will be available for Saturday's game through the links supplied below:

• Live Video
• Live Stats

Charleston comes into the semifinal round after playing some of their best defensive basketball of the year against Fairmont State. Holding the Falcons nearly 30 points below their season average, the Becky Burke led Golden Eagles, who give up 63.75 points per game, allowed the Falcons to score just 53 points in the quarterfinal round. Charleston was able to force 18 Falcon turnovers which led to 18 points while the Golden Eagles interior game excelled, as 52 points in the paint (20 for Fairmont) helped lift Charleston to victory.

On Thursday, the game began with Charleston converting the opening basket before Fairmont State jumped out to a 5-2 lead just under two minutes into the first quarter. Headed into the first media timeout of the quarter, the Falcons held a 7-6 lead behind three points from Kamrin Weimer. Each team forced three turnovers while Hayton recorded all six of Charleston's points through the first five minutes. The first basket outside of Hayton came at the 3:40 mark as Trinity Palacio drained a pair of mid-range jump shots to push the UC lead to 10-7. The Charleston scoring run was extended to 7-0 from the 4:01 to 1:08 mark in the opening quarter before Weimer converted her second three of the contest to cut the Golden Eagle lead to 13-10 at the end of the first frame.
 
A total of ten turnovers between the two teams in the first quarter led to limited scoring as Charleston was only able to score two fastbreak points on six Falcon turnovers.
 
The Golden Eagles were able to begin the second quarter on a 5-0 run over a three-minute span before Fairmont State's sharp-shooting threat Sierra Kotchman recorded her first bucket of the game from three-point range. Following the bucket, Charleston broke out again on a 10-0 run to increase their lead to 28-13. The Golden Eagles increased their lead to twenty, holding a 41-21 lead with just under a minute left in the first half before Hayton headed to the bench with 17 points (8-of-8 FG) and six rebounds. Reeves sent Charleston into the break holding a 44-23 lead after drilling a three-pointer in the final seconds of the half.
 
For the half, Charleston was able to shoot 56.0% (19-of-34) while holding Fairmont State, who averages just over 80.0 points per game to 32.0% in the half (8-of-25). The Golden Eagles, who hold the 8^th best three-point shooting percentage in Division II (37.9%), shot an astonishing 63 percent in the half (5-of-8) including four from the hands of Reeves. The Golden Eagles outrebounded the opposition 21-12 while holding a 24-6 advantage in the paint led by Hayton with 17.
 
To begin the second half, Hayton continued to shoot the ball efficiently, as the Senior worked her way through Falcon defenders down low. Hayton, who at the 6:37 mark of the third quarter continued her perfect shooting (11-of-11), led all scorers with 25 points with Charleston ahead 52-33. Headed into the media break, the Golden Eagles led 54-36 on 4-of-7 shooting. Charleston's superb defensive effort held the Falcons scoreless for a four-minute span in the third quarter as the Golden Eagles finished the quarter on a 9-2 run to extend their lead to 65-40.
 
To begin the fourth quarter, Charleston was able to put the game out of reach as a 10-2 run over the first four and a half minutes of the quarter had UC leading 75-42. At the final media break of the contest, Charleston held a 77-45 lead. Over the final minutes of the quarter, the teams exchanged buckets with the Golden Eagles holding on to an 86-52 win.
 
For the game, Charleston finished shooting 55.0% from the field (36-of-65) while holding Fairmont State to 33 percent from the floor (20-of-60). Most notably, Charleston was able to hold Sierra Kotchman to 13 points, seven below her season average. The Golden Eagles forced 18 Falcon turnovers to outscore the opposition 18-13 in points off turnovers.

Full recap and box score here
 
Scouting the Opponent:
Notre Dame comes into the contest holding a record of 25-4 (18-4 MEC) and defeated the Cardinals from Wheeling University in the quarterfinal round on the MEC tournament on Thursday by a score of 75-61. In the matchup, the Falcons were led offensively by Jada Marone (28 points) and Seina Adachi (23 points). The first half of play saw the game tied at 20-20 before Notre Dame pulled away to take a 42-33 lead into the break. Wheeling clawed their way back in the third, outscoring Notre Dame 17-15 in the quarter before a 10-2 run to close out the game allowed for Notre Dame to move on. The Falcons hold the 13^th best scoring offense in Division II (79.7 ppg) while holding their opponents, on average, to 70.5 ppg. The Falcons are led offensively by Seina Adachi, who averages 17.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest while teammate Jada Marone sits right behind her with 16.0 points per game.
 
Things to Know for Saturday:

1. Notre Dame is the only remaining team in the tournament field with a negative rebounding margin, as Wheeling, Fairmont State, West Liberty, and West Virginia State have all been eliminated. The Falcons, who have a -1.1 rebound margin, could struggle against the Charleston tandem of Anna Hayton and Erykah Russell, who combined average nearly 16 rebounds per contest to help the Golden Eagles to their +3.2 rebound margin.
2. Seina Adachi has rose to the occasion against Charleston this season, recording season-highs in points (39), field goals made (11), field goal attempts (21), three-pointers (6), free throws (11), and steals (6).
3. In two matchups against Charleston this season, Notre Dame has converted on 33-of-37 free throw attempts (89.1%) including a season-best 18-of-19 on January 18^th. Limiting Notre Dame's chances from the line could prove helpful in the long run for Charleston.

Matchup History: 
The Golden Eagles and the Falcons have squared off 16 times in their history with Notre Dame holding the slim 10-6 advantage. The Golden Eagles lost both games against the Falcons this season by a combined ten points and in their last matchup in South Euclid, Brooklyn Pannell led Charleston with 23 points.