The Notre Dame College Falcons woman's basketball team is coming off a historic season, one in which they set a school record in the DII era with 26 wins. They qualified for the NCAA DII Tournament in the Atlantic Region for the first time in school history. NDC was slated for a fourth matchup with Glenville State College and the chance to avenge a five point loss in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Championship game. On the eve of the start of the tournament, everything came crashing down as the NCAA Tournament was cancelled due to the coronavirus threat.
Marisa Finazzo battled through injuries her entire career at NDC. The senior, who attended high school locally at Gilmour Academy, may go down as one of the toughest Falcons ever. Her teammate, and fellow classmate, Seina Adachi talked about the toughness of Finazzo:
"Marisa never gave up no matter what the situation was. I can not imagine what she went through. I was fortunate that I did not suffer any major injuries in my time here. "Adachi added:
"We have struggled with injuries within the past four years as a team."
Finazzo talked about what the ride has been like for her, stating "The past four years have been the most difficult, the most challenging, and the most fun times of my life. Being out for about a year and a half due to injuries was no easy journey for me. However, it allowed me to take on a new role on the team by being more of a motivator and teacher, rather than a player. The most difficult part was definitely having to sit on the sidelines at games and practice. There would be times I had no desire to sit and watch practice because it just reminded me that I couldn't play the game I loved with the best teammates. Also, rehab and recovery from knee injuries is a very long process so it was challenging to stay disciplined and motivated, especially when I tore my other ACL 10 months after being cleared."
Finazzo continued by speaking to the similarities between the injuries herself and teammate Jessie Stout underwent: " Jess and I had similar injury experience as we both tore both ACL's in a short period of time. Losing Jess's sophomore year was a major loss for us and she would've provided very valuable minutes, rebounds, and points." However, it was through the senior forward's hard work and determination she was able to come back stronger than ever and have a successful junior and senior season.
Then the Falcons added a pair of key pieces to what would be this historic squad. Sophomore Jada Marone is from Berea,OH- and-came back to her home state after spending the first semester of her freshman year at Southeastern University in Louisiana. Jen Oduho is a junior from Erie,PA who came to NDC by way of Youngstown State University and Indiana University (PA.) Adachi talked about what the addition of these two meant:"Jada and Jen for sure helped a lot this year. They are great players that we can rely on. Jada is the best point guard in the conference and Jen is extremely talented."
Sophomore guard Theresa Parr is a native of Stow,OH, like Stout, and gave her thoughts on Marone and Oduho:
"Jada and Jen have definitely had a huge impact on our team. Not only on the offensive end with their ability to score, but to have a defensive impact as well had made tremendous contributions to our team."
Seina Adachi will go down as one of the best, if not the best, players in NDC women's basketball history. Amongst her many accolades, the senior from Attica,OH, tied the school single season record for points in a game with 39; broke the record for field goals made in a career; was the first player in the MEC to be named All-Conference First Team three consecutive seasons; and- she was named All Region this season. She was also just the second player in NDC Women's basketball history to be named to the All-American Team.
Adachi talked about what an honor being a leader was on this team:
" It is an honor to be one of the leaders on this team, especially since the team was so great this year. All of my teammates are great leaders, which makes our job as leaders easier."
Parr talked about the unique skill set that Adachi has always had:
"Seina is a great player all-around. Her ability to score and get steals on the defensive end is insane."
Finazzo added how much better she has become battling Adachi in practice:
" I know from personal experience guarding her in practice how tough she is to guard. It was a challenge that I was willing to accept because I knew it would only make me a better player. Her improvement from year to year just proves how much work she puts into the offseason and the positive results that can come from being determined and disciplined."
Adachi gave a quick thought about getting a chance to play with her sister Marina one last time:
"It is a great opportunity to play with my sister one last time."
Seina also talked about how she knew from the preseason this team was good enough to make the NCAA Tournament:
" Since the preseason, I knew this team was good enough to make the NCAA tournament. I was more confident than last year that we would go far this season. We improved not only as individuals but as a team we became better. We had great talent last season, but we could not come together as a whole."
Adachi talked about the bench and the energy it always had being the best part of the team:
"The best part of this year's team is our energy. You never see the bench quiet no matter what the score is. It has been fun to play with my teammates. "
Parr agreed with Adachi and said she never gave making the NCAA Tournament a ton of thought:
"I never thought about it being a dream to play in the NCAA Tournament, but when I saw the potential of this team I knew it was possible."
Parr also talked about all the ups and downs it took to get to the historic season:
"The journey has been full of a lot of ups and a few downs. I feel like we have put in so much effort to be where we are today. Some days became trying but at the end of the day our work paid off."
" Teammate Kyleigh Ramlow had nothing but praise for Parr and gave some insight to the sophomore's game:
"Theresa has improved a lot since last year. She is way more aggressive and confident on the court. She is a great asset to our team on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor. Playing with Theresa has been fun, especially because she is always looking to get me an open shot. That's just the type of player she is. She would rather kick it to somebody as opposed to shooting her little floater. She is a great player with a great basketball IQ. I will miss playing with her but i'm excited to see what she will do in her junior and senior seasons."
Julie Kemp is another member of the team who has made big strides since coming on campus as a local kid from North Olmsted High School.
Parr gave her synopsis on what Kemp brings on the floor:
" Julie's ability to box out, rebound, and finish in key parts of the game is very helpful."
Katie Karalic agreed and added her insight on Kemp:
" Julie is a post who can shoot and play inside so she is a post who brings a lot onto the court."
Karalic was another member of the special senior class who knew she was going to play college ball. The local product from Macedonia talked about how that happened and she chose NDC:
" In high school I knew I wanted to play basketball at the collegiate level. It was fun to be a part of a great AAU program where I was able to gain exposure and eventually get in contact with the coaching staff at NDC, which turned out to be the perfect fit for me. "
Adachi talked about the intangibles that Karalic brought night in and night out:
" We had some games that we would not have won without Katie's hustle and defensive plays. It has been extremely fun to play with all the seniors and I am extremely proud of every one of them."
Karalic spoke about what a fun journey it has been:
"I think everyone who has ever played college basketball dreams of playing in the NCAA Tournament and competing in March Madness."
Karalic talked about how special this senior class has truly become:
" Our senior class is not only extremely talented, but extremely hard working. We have people who bring something different for every aspect of the game. Going through this journey with them has been incredible and I could not ask for better seniors to play with."
Karalic reiterated the sentiments of Adachi from earlier:
"Everyone on our team is critical to our success. Everyone on the bench gets the people in the game excited- and- hyped to win."
Finazzo explained to how the success that this team has achieved would not be possible without all the current players and all of those who came before. She explained that as an eighth grader who was able to play in the city championship game and as a senior in high school who was able to play in a state semifinal, she is grateful for the journey that she has had.
Finazzo talked about the ups and downs of the four years:
" The seniors have been through all of the ups and downs with each other. Somehow managing early morning practices for a whole semester freshman year; to the injury-stricken sophomore year; to the highs and lows of junior year; and the success of senior year. I am so happy that I had five of my closest friends next to me through it all. The evolution and maturity that we have all gone through as both players and people, has been amazing. We all offer and bring different strengths an skill sets to the team that just really mesh well. As I said, my fellow seniors are some of my best friends and I wouldn't trade them or our four year experience for anything."
Ramlow is a senior from Toledo and she talked about the evolution of the team since September:
" I knew this team was good back in September. From the beginning of the preseason everyone was hungry. We knew we had the potential to do anything we wanted to as long as we worked hard enough for it. Even though preseason workouts, conditioning, lifting, and all the early mornings were not fun, but they were worth it at the end."
As for the journey itself, Ramlow added these thoughts:
" Our journey has been a lot of hard work, but a lot of fun at the same time. We have put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into getting to where we are today. I am extremely proud of our whole team for working as hard as we have. We always put each other before ourselves. We always have had the motto "we over me" and I think that really stuck with us. We stuck together as a unit and that was a big part of our success this season. Being a part of this senior class is truly amazing. When I first got here, I only knew Abi (Oriti-) and now i'm best friends with these girls. It is awesome to be a part of such a great group of seniors. We have been to hell and back together especially with all the early morning practices and preseason conditioning workouts. I am extremely thankful I got to experience college basketball for four years with these girls."
Then that fateful day came when the NCAA tournament was cancelled due to the growing coronavirus threat. The NDC seniors shared a few thoughts on the end of their season and careers:
"This is not the way I wanted my career to end, but unfortunately it is over. Thank You All for supporting me the last four years. Much love for the NDC fam."Adachi stated.
"Feeling extremely blessed for this sport, for all the amazing opportunities and people that it has brought into my life. I've had some amazing memories here at NDC, and can't believe it's over now. Thank You to my teammates, coaches, family, and, the NDC community for the best four years of my life."Ramlow explained.
" I still can't believe this is how our senior season is ending. We still made history."Stout mentioned.
" As a senior athlete whose team qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history this is extremely heartbreaking. Understand why they're doing it and know it is necessary but it still hurts as badly and know so many are disappointed."Karalic said.
MEC Coach Of The Year Lauren Macer reflected on the end of the season:
" Still doesn't fell real. Having to tell our team that our season has ended without playing a game after earning an opportunity to play in our first NCAA Tournament game was heartbreaking. We accomplished so much this year. Thankful for this group and thank you to our seniors."Macer explained.
Whether or not this team was going to beat Glenville State , no one will ever know. Sometimes sports have to take a backseat to the rest of life and the current coronavirus pandemic is the epitome of that. This group of seniors was one of the most fun groups to be around and they will do well in life at whatever they put their minds to. Thank you for all that you did for this school. Best of luck Falcons and as always, Fly Above.
NDC seniors from left to right: Jessie Stout, Kyleigh Ramlow, Marisa Finazzo, Katie Karlalic, Abi Oriti, and Seina Adachi.
Photo courtesy of Lianna Holub
Team gets ready for the MEC Tournament!!
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