Hannah Hidalgo scored 22 points to lead No. 14 Notre Dame to a 55-51 victory over No. 10 North Carolina State in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championship on Sunday in Greensboro, N.C.
Hidalgo also recorded six assists, six rebounds and two steals as the fourth-seeded Fighting Irish (26-6) won their first ACC tournament title since 2019 and sixth since joining the league in 2013. The victory made Fighting Irish coach Niele Ivey the first Black woman to win the ACC tournament.
Maddy Westbeld collected 16 points and seven rebounds and Sonia Citron added 11 and eight, respectively, for the Irish.
River Baldwin powered the second-seeded Wolfpack (27-6) with 14 points, while Aziaha James recorded 12 points, six rebounds and a team-high five assists.
Notre Dame ended the first half on an 11-4 run to take a 28-22 lead at the break. To cap off the scoring surge, Hidalgo connected on a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired. The ACC Rookie and Defensive Player of the Year then stared down a few Wolfpack fans sitting courtside and pumped her fist.
After trailing by seven points in the third quarter, North Carolina State broke off a 15-5 run to take a three-point advantage. Baldwin provided eight points, a block and two boards for the Wolfpack during that crucial span of over five minutes.
The Irish reclaimed the lead with 1:28 left to play in the fourth on a layup in traffic from Hidalgo. She then sank 1 of 2 free throws with 10 seconds left to push Notre Dame’s lead to two possessions.
Notre Dame was short on post depth as it played without 6-foot-4 forward Kylee Watson. The junior, who is third on the team in rebounding and first in blocked shots, appeared on the bench with crutches after exiting the Irish’s semifinal win over Virginia Tech.
Without Watson, North Carolina State outscored Notre Dame 24-18 in the paint and won the rebounding margin 40-33.
But it didn’t matter, as the Irish outplayed North Carolina State along the perimeter. Notre Dame sank 8 of 17 3-pointers, while the Wolfpack hit 3 of 17.
–Field Level Media
