After consecutive defeats to NC State and Florida State last week, No. 3 Notre Dame women’s basketball was back in Purcell Pavilion Sunday afternoon to wrap up the regular season against No. 25 Louisville. After starting conference play 15-0, the Irish were faced with their third and final chance to clinch a share of the ACC Regular Season Championship with the Cardinals coming to town for the 11th top-25 matchup of Notre Dame’s season.
Louisville and Notre Dame have developed into the ACC’s most consistent conference rivalry over the last decade, with both programs qualifying for multiple Final Fours since joining the league. The Irish lead the all-time slate 21-14 after winning this season’s first matchup 89-71 back on Feb. 2 at the KFC Yum! Center.
Led by 18th-year head coach Jeff Walz, the Cardinals won five of their seven games in February to move into a tie for third place in the ACC standings. After starting the season 0-5 against ranked opponents, Louisville collected marquee top-25 road wins at California, Florida State and Duke last month.
The Irish have also had their fair share of national success this season, even reaching the No. 1 ranking two weeks ago. Notre Dame has compiled seven ranked wins on the campaign, including victories against top-5 foes USC, Texas and UConn.
After imploring her side to improve their defensive effort after Thursday’s loss, head coach Niele Ivey’s Irish held Louisville to just 6-20 shooting throughout the first quarter, but still found themselves trailing 15-14.
“Our team came out laser-focused on defense and that was the emphasis after Thursday night,” Ivey said in her postgame press conference.
The high-octane Irish offense, which ranks second in the ACC averaging nearly 87 PPG, began to fire in the second quarter led by the backcourt duo of sophomore Hannah Hidalgo and senior Sonia Citron.
Hidalgo, who leads the ACC in scoring and steals, did it all for the Irish throughout the period, entering the break with 11 points, five rebounds and four assists. A projected top-3 pick in April’s WNBA Draft, Citron has been on fire recently, averaging nearly 20 points and seven rebounds across Notre Dame’s last six contests. She scored eight points in the frame on perfect shooting, while leading the Irish’s 6-0 run to close the half which sent the team to the intermission with a 36-28 advantage. Notre Dame converted on five of its last seven shots of the half while holding Louisville to one for its last eight, including a two-and-a-half-minute scoring drought.
Ivey commented on Citron’s steadying presence during her Irish career, “She has been solid ever since she stepped on campus. She is one of the best two-way players in the country. She’s our glue and she does whatever it takes for us to win games.” Hidalgo agreed, “She’s such a versatile player. She’s so dangerous — a silent assassin — and her mentality is something that’s great to have on our team.”
Speaking on her mindset in practice following the Florida State loss Hidalgo said, “I just trust in my game and know that I’ve been in this position before. Having teammates and coaches that trust in me makes it easy to bounce back.”
Despite shooting a subpar 32% from beyond the arc on the year, the Cardinals were kept afloat by 5-13 shooting from deep throughout the first half. Senior guard Jayda Curry, who is second on the team in scoring, canned three triples to lead her team with 11 points.
Curry kept it going on the other side of halftime, draining two early treys to trim the lead back down to three. Aided by yet another nearly four-minute Cardinals scoring drought however, the Irish embarked on an 18-3 run to attain their largest lead of the afternoon, igniting the sold-out “Green Out” crowd inside Purcell Pavilion. Graduate guard Olivia Miles, who struggled in the Irish’s recent losing streak, buried a fadeaway three at the horn to give her 12 points on the day and her squad a 58-40 edge heading to the fourth quarter.
Ivey addressed the raucous crowd following the game, expressing her appreciation for the support, “Our student body and fans were great. We fed off their energy and that was the difference in the game from the beginning. They were especially loud during our run in the third quarter,” she said.
The Irish continued the suffocating defense throughout the fourth quarter, picking up the season sweep of the Cardinals and ending the regular season with a key 72-59 victory. Hidalgo broke out of her shooting slump, leading the charge with 20 points, nine rebounds, and six assists to solidify her case for Naismith Player of the Year. Miles chipped in 15 points and five rebounds for Notre Dame, while Curry led Louisville with 19 points on five made threes.
When asked about her ability to impact the game beyond scoring Hidalgo said, “I had to change my mindset. I can’t win a national championship by myself — I have to get my teammates involved. I’m just trying to do everything I can to win,”
The win secured Notre Dame’s eighth ACC Championship in 12 years as a conference member. NC State closed out the season with a dominant victory at last-placed SMU and held the tiebreaker over the Irish following last week’s win in Raleigh. As a result, Notre Dame will be the No. 2 seed in next week’s ACC Tournament.
As the Irish look forward to the ACC Tournament Ivey said, “We always have to rely on our defense. It’s the same message going forward. You can’t solely focus on your offense and expect to win big games.” She continued, “Next week is 0-0. It’s a new season and we are excited to be in March.”
The 15-team tournament will kick off Wednesday in Greensboro, North Carolina, but the Irish will have a double bye into the quarterfinals. Sitting at 25-4, Notre Dame will get the postseason madness rolling Friday at 5:00 p.m., with coverage on ESPN2.
