#2 Notre Dame Falls to #3 Duke in ACC Semifinals

Notre Dame’s hopes of repeating as ACC Tournament Champions came to a halt on Saturday as Duke upset the Irish 61-56, marking the lowest points scored from the ACC Regular-Season Co-Champions all year.

Photo via Notre Dame Athletics

The first quarter was a tense one for both sides as Notre Dame held the 17-16 lead after ten minutes. The Irish took their largest lead of the quarter with 5:42 on the clock when an Olivia Miles three extended Notre Dame’s lead to 9-4. Following the Miles three, Duke countered with a 7-0 run led by Ashlon Jackson to take a 11-9 lead with 3:46 remaining. The Irish responded with a 6-0 run that put the Irish in front 15-11 with 1:53 to play. A three-pointer from Duke with 34 seconds remaining trimmed their deficit to one, 16-17, heading into the second quarter. Hannah Hidalgo led all first-quarter scorers with eight points on 4-6 shooting from the field and added two assists in her first ten minutes played.

The second quarter began with Irish starter Maddy Westbeld exiting 1:35 into the frame after sustaining her second bloody nose in as many days. She would not return until the second half. With 7:39 on the clock, Duke tied the game up at 20-20 and this kickstarted a 6-0 run for the Blue Devils that put them up top by four. Back-to-back buckets from the Irish bench tied the game at 24 with 5:09 remaining. Following a couple of free throws from Duke, Notre Dame responded with a 7-0 run led by Hidalgo and Cassandre Prosper that put the Irish ahead 31-26 with 1:13 to play. A Duke three with 47 seconds left in the half cut the Irish lead to 31-29 entering the break. Hidalgo led second-quarter scorers with six points in eight minutes played.

With both sides struggling to knock down the deep ball in the first half (combined 3-17), it was the Irish’s stronger defensive presence that allowed them the halftime lead. Notre Dame created 17 points off of 11 Duke turnovers in the first twenty minutes, as they gathered eight steals in the half. While Duke played strong defensively as well, it was not as productive as they scored seven points off of seven Irish turnovers to begin the contest.

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A sloppy third quarter from the Irish featuring six turnovers led to Duke outscoring Notre Dame 18-11 in the frame to take a five-point advantage into the final ten minutes. The Blue Devils took their first lead of the half following a Taina Mair layup that put Duke up 36-35 with 6:15 on the clock. Jackson knocked down a three with 4:18 remaining to extend their lead to 41-37. Notre Dame responded and a three from Miles with 3:17 remaining put the Irish back in front, 42-41. This was the last basket of the quarter for Notre Dame as Duke locked in defensively and closed the quarter on a 6-0 run to give the Blue Devils a 47-42 lead heading into the fourth. Seven different Blue Devils got on the board in this frame, but Jackson’s five points tied Notre Dame’s Miles for the most in the quarter from either team. 

Duke opened the final quarter with a three to extend their lead to eight with 8:46 to play. Notre Dame finally found some offense with a 5-0 run led by Hidalgo to make it a one-score game, 50-47, with 7:41 remaining. Duke then added four more unanswered points to extend their lead to seven, 54-47, with 6:32 on the clock. Sonia Citron ended more than three scoreless minutes for the Irish with a three-pointer to cut their deficit to four with 4:10 to play. Both teams then went quiet offensively for nearly three minutes until a Duke layup extended their lead to 56-50 with 1:14 to play. Hidalgo answered with a layup of her own as she cut the Irish deficit to 56-52 with 54 seconds on the clock. The remainder of this game was a free throw contest, except for a Miles layup with one second left, and Duke did not falter at the line, securing their spot in the ACC Championship with a 61-56 upset victory over the Irish. Duke’s Oluchi Okananwa and Notre Dame’s Hidalgo led fourth-quarter scorers with seven points apiece.

In the second half, Notre Dame’s defense did not falter, but they could not find a basket, shooting 32% from the field, including 25% from three in the twenty minutes. An Olivia Miles tweaked ankle mixed with a lack of bench production were also contributors to this second-half collapse.

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Notre Dame now awaits their position in this year's NCAA Tournament as Selection Sunday is next week, March 16. Expect to see a fiery Irish squad coming off this ACC Tournament exit as they are slated to be a top-four seed in March Madness.

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