For the first time this season the Burlington Notre Dame girls’ basketball team saw a loss next to their name in the box score, as Washington utilized a strong second half to down the Nikes at home 49-44.

As heard on KCII, both teams struggled offensively in the first half trying to adjust to their opponent’s 2-3-zone. It was close throughout with Notre Dame holding an 18-14 lead at half and 33-31 at the end of three. Early in the fourth is when the Demons made their run to flip the script and take an eight-point lead. Back-to-back Nike threes kept them around, but big plays down the stretch and solid free throw shooting salted the game away. Anna Nacos had 15 of her game-high 23 points come in the second half on seven of 11 shooting including three field goals from long range. Addison Six and Madison Fishback each added eight points. Head Coach Shannon Rugg tells KCII Sports his team is battle-tested and was not fazed down the stretch. “We have played a lot of close games and we are starting to understand what we are trying to do in those games. Just doing things right and believing in us is coming along. This team is fun to work with and is up to any challenge that comes their way.”

Washington improves to 6-4 and they travel to Keokuk on Friday.