Postgame Interview

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Fairmont State's Emily Puskarich hit a single-game Mountain East Conference Tournament record eight three-pointers to help lead the Falcons to a 75-59 win over Notre Dame College on Thursday night in the fourth quarterfinal of the day at the Charleston Civic Center.
 
Puskarich hit seven of her eight three-pointers in the opening half to set the new MEC tournament record and added one more triple in the fourth quarter. The senior tied a career-high with 26 points to go along with five rebounds in the win.
 
Fairmont State (18-11) advances to the semifinal round of the tournament on Saturday afternoon against eighth-seeded Charleston. Tip is set for 12 noon. This will be Fairmont's second-consecutive trip to the MEC semifinal round.
 
Makenzie White stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and seven steals. Deidra Combs (15) and Amanda Ruffner (11) also reached double figures.
 
With the win, FSU improves to 15-2 when scoring 70 points or more in a game this season. Tonight is also just the second time this season that FSU made double-digit three-pointers in a game.
 
Fairmont State shot 43.8 percent from the field, and 47.8 percent from behind the arc (11-23) as a team. The Falcons also totaled 19 assists on 28 made field goals.
 
Notre Dame (15-13) was led by Kim Cook with 16 points and seven rebounds. Seina Adachi also reached double-figures with 10 points. NDC held a 48-29 rebounding advantage in the game.
 
With FSU leading 62-40 entering the fourth quarter, NDC went on a 12-0 run over the first 5:22 of the fourth quarter to close Fairmont's lead to just 10 (62-52). However, an 8-0 run that was sparked by Puskarich's eighth three-pointer dashed Notre Dame's comeback bid as FSU rolled to the 75-59 win.
 
Notes: FSU is now 5-3 in Mountain East Conference Tournament games.