Notre Dame Women’s Basketball opened ACC Tournament play on Friday with a 73-64 victory against the California Golden Bears thanks to another signature Hannah Hidalgo performance and an overall great defensive display from the Irish squad.
Photo via Notre Dame Athletics
The first quarter began with both teams trading pairs of buckets. With 5:04 remaining in the frame, Cal held a 10-8 lead. Notre Dame flipped the script after this, finishing the quarter on an 8-0 run to take a 16-10 advantage into the second. The Golden Bears only received points from two scorers; Lulu Twidale with six and Marta Suarez with four. For the Irish, they received offensive production from six different scorers, led by Hannah Hidalgo and Liatu King who each contributed four points apiece. On defense, the Irish forced ten turnovers to help jump out to the first quarter lead.
Following a King layup to open the second quarter, Cal stormed back with a 7-0 run to trim their deficit to one, 17-18, with 7:48 to play in the half. Hidalgo gave Notre Dame the response they needed with a 6-0 run by herself to extend the Irish lead to seven, 24-17, with 6:35 on the clock. The two sides then went back-and-forth until Cal went on a 5-0 run with under two minutes to play to tie the game at 28. With 35 seconds to play, a Maddy Westbeld layup and Liza Karlen free throw gave Notre Dame a 31-28 advantage heading into the half. The Golden Bears’ Kayla Williams led all second-quarter scorers with 11 points in a perfect-shooting frame including three three-pointers. Hidalgo led the way for the Irish with eight points including five free throws.
Despite the poor shooting performance in the first half, Notre Dame’s defense allowed them to hold the lead at the break. The Irish turned 19 Cal turnovers into 14 points, while on the other side, seven Irish turnovers led to just three Cal points. Notre Dame gathered eight first-half steals while Cal finished with zero steals or blocks in the first twenty minutes.
The beginning of the third quarter was a sketchy one for the Irish. After an Olivia Miles free throw that extended Notre Dame’s lead to 36-31, Cal’s Twidale caught fire and went on an 8-0 run by herself, including two threes to put the Golden Bears on top 39-36 with 7:05 remaining in the quarter. Sonia Citron responded with a three to tie the game up but Cal’s run was not finished as they added six more unanswered points to push their lead to six, 45-39, with 5:08 on the clock. With 4:38 to play, Cal held a 47-41 lead. In this game of runs, Notre Dame saved their best one for a good time as they crawled back with a 12-0 run led by Miles and Hidalgo to put the Irish in front by six, 53-47, with 1:19 left in the quarter. With Cal adding a last-second score, the Irish headed into the final frame up 55-50. Twidale and Miles led third-quarter scorers with ten points apiece in the frame. Hidalgo contributed nine as the Irish shot 3-3 from deep in the ten-minute frame.
In the fourth quarter, following a layup by Cal that brought the contest to a one-score game, Notre Dame put their foot on the gas pedal and never let the opposition back into the game. A 6-0 run pushed the Irish lead to nine with 4:30 to play. Following a pair of Cal baskets, the Irish went on another 6-0 run to extend their lead to 12 with 2:39 remaining. The Golden Bears could not find a bucket in the final minutes until they hit a three with 16 seconds left. That would be the final basket of this ACC Quarterfinal as Notre Dame walked out with a 73-64 win. Seven different Irish players got on the board in the final frame as Hidalgo and Citron led the team with four points apiece.
The second half was an impressive showing for the Irish. On offense, they shot 55% from the field, 60% from three, and 100% from the free-throw line. Their defense also did not waiver as they forced nine Cal turnovers including five steals and two blocks in the half.
Irish Stars:
Hannah Hidalgo: 25 points (9-15 FGs, 2-2 3FGs), 4 rebounds, 2 steals, +8
Olivia Miles: 14 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, +16
Liatu King: 10 points (5-9 FGs), 5 rebounds, 3 steals
Key Team Stats:
Field Goal Percentage: Cal (46%) - ND (45%)
Three Point Percentage: Cal (36%) - ND (29%)
Free Throw Percentage: ND (73%) - Cal (71%)
Bench Points: ND (9) - Cal (0)
Points in Paint: ND (46) - Cal (26)
Fastbreak Points: ND (18) - Cal (0)
Turnovers: Cal (28) - ND (13)
Points Off Turnovers: ND (28) - Cal (8)
Steals: ND (13) - Cal (1)
Notre Dame is set to face the winner of Duke/Louisville tomorrow at 2:30 eastern in an ACC Semifinal matchup.
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