Notre Dame Fends Off Louisville To Advance In ACC Tournament
Greensboro, N.C. - Notre Dame saw a 22-point lead shrink to just three points late in the fourth quarter but managed to hold on for a 77-68 ACC Tournament quarterfinal win over Louisville. The win extends Notre Dame’s (24-6) winning streak to six games while the Cardinals (24-9) have lost have lost six of their last eleven games.
Sonia Citron and Hannah Hidalgo drove the Fighting Irish offense most of the day. The duo combined for 47 points to help Notre Dame beat Louisville for the second time in five days. Citron finished with 26 points while Hidalgo scored 21 to top the 20-point mark for the 25th time this season.
Maddy Westbeld, who ended her day with 13 points, sandwiched a layup between a pair of Citron 3-points to spark an early 8-0 run that gave Notre Dame a 10-2 lead. Louisville, who was playing its second 11 am game in as many days, missed its first eight shots including four 3s to open the game. The Irish led 19-10 at the end of the first quarter after limiting Louisville to 3 of 13 shooting from the field.
ND led 34-17 at halftime after Louisville hit 1 of its last 7 shots to close the first half. It helped the Irish overcome 4 for 14 shooting in the second quarter. Notre Dame’s lead ballooned to 43-21 early in the second half, but the Cardinals would not go away. They made 8 of 17 shots to outscore the Irish 22-17 in the third quarter but still trailed by 15 going into the game’s final 10 minutes.
Louisville guard Jayda Curry caught fire to open the fourth quarter by hitting her first five shots as the Cardinals got as close as three points. Curry led Louisville with 26 points.
Sydney Taylor’s bucket made it 49-39 with under a minute to play in the third. Watson’s put back while falling to the floor after a Hidalgo miss gave the Irish a 51-39 lead going to the fourth.
The game came down to free throws, two of them technical foul shots after Louisville head coach Jeff Walz was ejected after his second technical foul, in the the final minute. Citron made 7 of 7 to help the Irish make 12 of 16 at the line in the fourth quarter. Citron was 10 for 11 in the game while Hidalgo made 11 of 14 to help Notre Dame make 24 of 30 shots from the charity stripe.
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