SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – Boosted by a 16-6 run to close the first half, UVa-Wise scored a 78-71 Mountain East Conference victory over Notre Dame College on Monday. The victory was the second consecutive MEC win for the Cavaliers who are 2-0 in league play for the first time since 2005-2006.

UVa-Wise (2-2, 2-0 MEC) swapped the lead with Notre Dame College (2-2, 1-1 MEC) four times over the first 8:30 of the game before a 9-2 run by the Cavaliers gave the visitors a 24-18 advantage.

The Falcons would get as close as three points in the first half after a pair of foul shots by Molly Ritz made the score 28-25 with 5:35 to play.

From there, UVa-Wise would take over the remainder of the half as back-to-back buckets by Kehanna Grayer and Naya Williams would give the Cavs a 36-26 lead as part of a 6-0 run by the visitors.

Notre Dame would get it back to six at 37-31 after Martha Nagbe connected on a pair of foul shots only to see UVa-Wise end the half on a 7-0 run to take the big halftime lead.

Coach Kristin Kunzman's squad would maintain a double-digit lead for the majority of the second half. Notre Dame would put together one last run late in the game to try and steal the victory.

Trailing 64-53, the Falcons would go on a 8-0 run to cut the lead to three at 64-61 with 4:32 remaining.

After each team traded baskets, UVa-Wise would keep Notre Dame at arm's length for the final four minutes of the contest.

Three consecutive free throws by Taylor Sandidge gave the Cavs a 71-65 with 1:52 to play.  After a pair of defensive stops, fellow guard Makenzie Cluesman would knock down three of four foul shots to put the game out of reach at 74-65 with 1:16 to go.

Notre Dame would get the game back within five points in the final 20 seconds but, two more free throws by Cluesman would provide the winning margin of seven at 78-71

UVa-Wise's Blair Harding led all players with 21 points on 6-12 shooting.  She was 7-8 at the line and grabbed four boards.  Cluesman scored 14 points and corralled nine boards off the bench while Allison Ball netted 11 points in 13 minutes.

As a team, the Cavs shot 50 percent from the floor while making 24 of 30 free throw attempts.

Nagbe led the Falcons with 16 points while teammates Mollie Ritz and Celine Mangan chipped in 15 each.

The game was the fourth of five consecutive to start the season on the road for UVa-Wise.  The team will complete its five game road trip on Saturday when the team visits former Mid-South Conference rival Pikeville.