Sonia Citron scored 19 points to help No. 14 Notre Dame roll past No. 11 Virginia Tech 82-53 on Saturday in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Greensboro, N.C.
By beating the top-seeded Hokies (24-7), the No. 3-seed Irish (25-6) will play in the ACC tournament final for the first time since 2019.
Maddy Westbeld added 18 points for Notre Dame, Anna DeWolfe scored 14, and ACC Freshman of the Year Hannah Hidalgo piled up 15 points, six assists and six rebounds.
“It was just one of our best performances I felt like this season,” Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey said. “Just the way that we’ve been gelling together and the energy they brought today.”
Georgia Amoore powered Virginia Tech with 24 points, while Olivia Summiel contributed 10 points and 18 rebounds.
For the second straight game, the Hokies played without three-time ACC Player of the Year Elizabeth Kitley. Virginia Tech coach Kenny Brooks ruled her out of the conference tournament with a knee injury in the Hokies’ regular-season finale.
Virginia Tech coughed up six turnovers in the second quarter and trailed by 10 at the break. The Irish started the third frame on a 19-2 run to pull away with a 52-25 lead.
Notre Dame forward Kylee Watson exited the game in the third quarter. She returned to the bench with crutches.
No. 1 South Carolina 74, Tennessee 73
Kamilla Cardoso’s unlikely buzzer-beating 3-pointer gave the unbeaten and top-seeded Gamecocks the win over the upset-minded Volunteers in the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament in Greenville, S.C.
It was the first time in her 119th career game that Cardoso made a shot from behind the arc. She caught Raven Johnson’s pass with 1.1 seconds left and fired.
Cardoso finished with 13 points, five rebounds and three blocks. MiLaysia Fulwiley also had 13 points and Raven Johnson added 11 for South Carolina (31-0).
Rickea Jackson powered fifth-seeded Tennessee (19-12) with 22 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Jewel Spear added 21 points.
No. 3 Iowa 95, Michigan 68
Caitlin Clark racked up 28 points and 15 assists as the second-seeded Hawkeyes raced away from the sixth-seeded Wolverines in the Big Ten tournament semifinals in Minneapolis.
Hannah Stuelke added 16 points, Kate Martin 13 and Sydney Affolter 12, to go with eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals, for Iowa (28-4).
Laila Phelia led Michigan (20-13) with 21 points. Iowa outscored Michigan 54-16 in the paint.
No. 6 Texas 76, Kansas 60
Madison Booker pumped in 21 points and Aaliyah Moore had 19 points and 11 rebounds as the Longhorns were in control most of the way in the Big 12 Conference tournament quarterfinal in Kansas City, Mo.
On Monday, second-seeded Texas (28-4) meets Kansas State in a semifinal matchup.
Taylor Jones added 15 points for the Longhorns, who won despite making just two 3-point baskets and missing nine of 25 free throws.
S’mya Nichols racked up 20 points and Holly Kersgieter registered 17 points and seven rebounds for seventh-seeded Kansas (19-12), which was hurt by 14 turnovers.
Zakiyah Franklin had 13 points, but the Jayhawks lost to Texas for the second time this season and their four-game winning streak came to an end.
No. 8 LSU 75, Ole Miss 67
Angel Reese and Flau’jae Johnson scored 21 points apiece and the second-seeded Tigers survived a tussle with the Rebels in the Southeastern Conference tournament semifinal in Greenville, S.C.
Ole Miss was within 55-53 with just under nine minutes remaining. The Tigers began to take control on Reese’s three-point play.
LSU (28-4) will meet top-ranked and undefeated South Carolina (31-0) in Sunday’s title game. Aneesah Morrow and Hailey Van Lith each added 12 points for the Tigers.
Madison Scott posted 22 points and Marquesha Davis had 21 points for third-seeded Ole Miss (23-8), which lost to LSU for the second time this season. The Rebels had a seven-game winning streak snapped.
No. 9 UConn 86, Providence 53
Paige Bueckers scored 29 points to help the Huskies beat the Friars in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament at Uncasville, Conn.
Bueckers shot 5 of 10 from 3-point range and also had nine rebounds, six assists, three steals and three blocks for UConn (27-5). KK Arnold added 17 points, and Aaliyah Edwards scored 12 points in 24 minutes before exiting the game after getting hit in the face.
Grace Efosa paced Providence (13-20) with 23 points.
UConn trailed by four points early, then closed the first quarter on a 23-6 run. The Huskies won the rebounding margin 37-26.
No. 10 NC State 69, Florida State 43
Aziaha James collected 23 points and nine rebounds as the second-seeded Wolfpack topped the sixth-seed Seminoles in the semifinals of the ACC tournament in Greensboro, N.C.
NC State (27-5) will face 4-seed Notre Dame in Sunday’s title game. The Wolfpack have the chance to win their fourth ACC tournament title in five seasons.
Mimi Collins added 17 points and 13 rebounds for the Wolfpack, while River Baldwin chipped in 11 boards and seven points.
Florida State (23-10) was led by Ta’Niya Latson’s 16 points.
The Wolfpack led by 15 points at the break and grew that lead to as much as 26 points in the fourth quarter. NC State dominated inside, winning the rebounding margin 58-32 and outscoring FSU 42-18 in the paint.
No. 16 Kansas State 65, West Virginia 62
Ayoka Lee scored 22 points and the third-seeded Wildcats survived against the Mountaineers in the Big 12 Conference tournament quarterfinal game at Kansas City, Mo.
West Virginia didn’t have a field goal in the last three minutes. Kylee Blacksten missed a potential tying 3-pointer with about 10 seconds left, and then after two missed free throws from Lee and a West Virginia timeout, JJ Quinerly couldn’t get a desperation 3-point attempt to fall.
Serena Sundell added 14 points and eight rebounds, and Gabby Gregory had 11 points for the Wildcats. Quinerly poured in 27 points and Jordan Harrison posted 16 points for sixth-seeded West Virginia (24-7).
Kansas State (25-6) will face Texas, the second seed, in Monday’s second semifinal.
Iowa State 67, No. 17 Baylor 62
Powered by Addy Brown and Audi Crooks, the No. 4-seed Cyclones topped the No. 5-seed Bears in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament at Kansas City, Mo.
Crooks scored 23 points for Iowa State (19-10) while Brown had 16 points and 12 rebounds. Senior guard Emily Ryan also had a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists, making her the Cyclones all-time leader in career assists.
Dre’una Edwards led Baylor (24-7) with 17 points off the bench, while Bella Fontleroy contributed 14 points.
Baylor led by six points with 3:34 to play after a long 3-pointer from Sarah Andrews before Iowa State closed the game on a 12-1 run.
No. 19 Oklahoma 69, TCU 53
Sahara Williams scored 17 points to help the top-seeded Sooners hold off the nine-seed Horned Frogs in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City, Mo.
Williams also had eight rebounds while Lexy Keys added 11 points for Oklahoma (22-8). Madison Conner had 19 points for TCU (20-11).
Oklahoma closed the first quarter on a 13-2 run and never trailed from there. The Sooners outscored TCU 30-14 in the paint.
No. 21 Creighton 72, Seton Hall 65
Morgan Maly scored 23 points and Lauren Jensen was right behind with 22 as the second-seeded Bluejays defeated the Pirates in their Big East Conference tournament quarterfinal in Uncasville, Conn.
Maly scored the game’s final four points on free throws in the last 32 seconds to clinch the outcome.
Molly Mogensen added 14 points for the Bluejays, who will face St. John’s or Georgetown in Sunday’s semifinal. Creighton won its fourth game in a row and 15th in its last 16.
Micah Gray had 15 points and Azana Baines 14 points for seventh-seeded Seton Hall (17-14), which made 53.3 percent (8-for-15) of its 3-point attempts.
But Creighton held a 23-7 scoring advantage on free throws.
Maly made three 3-point baskets and shared game-high honors with nine rebounds.
No. 25 Fairfield 83, Rider 54
Karly Fischer scored 16 points as the Stags raced away from the Broncs in Fairfield, Conn., in the regular-season finale for both teams.
Kaety L’amoreaux had 15 points and five steals, while Meghan Andersen added 11 points as Fairfield (28-1, 20-0 MAAC) extended its program-record winning streak to 26 games.
Taylor Blunt paced Rider (9-20, 6-14) with 11 points.
The Stags never trailed after getting out to a 22-4 lead in the first quarter. Fairfield scored 26 points off 22 Rider turnovers.
–Field Level Media
