The Notre Dame women’s basketball team has been playing some really goodf basketball lately, and it comes at the perfect time of year — March. On Friday, the Irish outclassed the NC State Wolfpack in every way possible to get a 81-63 win in the quarterfibals of the ACC Tournament.
Irish Dominate Wolfpack In ACC Quarterfinal Win
DULUTH, Ga – The Fighting Irish imposed their will on NC State in Friday’s ACC Tournament quarterfinal matchup, winning in impressive fashion by a final score of 81-63 inside
Gas South Arena. Notre Dame has advanced to the semifinal round in each of the last five seasons.
Notre Dame will take on top-seeded Duke in the semifinals at noon ET on Saturday, March 7. The game will air on ESPN2.
The Irish have now won seven straight and nine of their last 10 to improve to 22-9 on the season. Six of the seven wins in the streaks have been decided by double figures.
The guard combo of Hannah Hidalgo and Iyana Moore left its fingerprints all over the victory, combining for 45 points. Hidalgo led the way with 25 on 12-of-20 shooting and Moore poured in 20 off a 6-of-13 shooting performance, including 4-of-9 from three-point range.
Cassandre Prosper also finished in double figures, scoring 13 points, all coming in the second half.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish were on fire to start the game, knocking down eight of their first 11 shots, including 3-for-5 from three, to jump out to an early 19-9 lead over the first 6 minutes of play. NC State managed to outscore Notre Dame 9-4 in the final 4 minutes of the quarter to cut the lead in half at 23-18 at the end of the first quarter.
Moore and Hidalgo carried the Irish offense in the opening 10 minutes of action, each scoring 10 points to help build the early advantage.
Notre Dame increased its lead to seven at 29-22 three minutes into the second quarter and then reeled off seven straight points to go on top 36-22 with 4 minutes left in the half. NC State battled back and whittled the Irish advantage to eight at the half with the score 40-32.
Moore and Hidalgo scored 13 of Notre Dame’s buckets in the opening 20 minutes of action, combining for 33 points.
The Irish grabbed complete control of the game in the first 3 minutes of the third quarter, erupting on the offensive end for the first 10 points of the half, as Prosper and Hidalgo each scored five to make it a 50-32 game.
Notre Dame led by as many as 24 points in the third before taking a 21-point advantage at 62-41 into the final 10 minutes of action. Prosper enjoyed a breakout quarter, scoring 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting.
The Irish scored the first six points of the final frame to have its largest lead of the afternoon at 27 points. From there Notre Dame coasted into the semifinal, winning by a score of 81-63.
NOTRE DAME STAT OF THE GAME
Hidalgo’s 25-point performance is her sixth straight, which is the most among all ACC players this century. The outburst also marks the sixth time the junior has recorded 20 or more points in an ACC Tournament game, tied for the most of any player this century.
NOTRE DAME NOTES
- The Irish improved to 12-6 against NC State in the all-time series and swept the season series.
- Notre Dame improves to 25-6 all-time in the ACC Tournament and has advanced to the semifinals 11 times in 13 appearances.
- Hidalgo has scored 25 or more points in six straight games, the longest streak of her career.
- Hidalgo now has 19 games this season with 25 or more points, joining Mikayla Blakes as the only two players in women’s DI to accomplish the feat.
- Hidalgo moved up the chart on the ACC single-season scoring list with 783 points on the year, ranking seventh in the league history.
- With 25 points, Hidalgo has scored 20+ points in 24 games this season and 75 games in her career, which is the program record.
- Hidalgo has finished in double figures in the scoring column in all 98 games of her career, the longest streak in program history.
- Moore now has four games with 20 or more points this season and 20 in her career.
- Moore knocked down four shots from beyond the arc and has achieved the feat 10 times this season.
UP NEXT
The Irish move on to the ACC Championship semifinal round and will take on top-seeded Duke at noon ET on Saturday, March 7 inside Gas South Arena in Duluth, Georgia. The game will air on ESPN2.
