SOUTH BEND, Ind. — For the second time this season, it was an all-out 40 minute battle between the Irish and Orange. Despite being tied heading into the fourth, a strong final quarter from Syracuse (17-2, 7-1) would lift them to a 79-65 win as the Irish (14-4, 5-3) fell to the Orange for the second time this season.
Notre Dame finished with three players in double figures as Hannah Hidalgo, Sonia Citron and Maddy Westbeld led the offensive charge for the Irish.
Hidalgo put up 23 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and knocked down a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line. Citron followed with 14 points, grabbing 5 boards, and dishing out 3 assists. Westbeld finished with 10 points and a team best 7 rebounds. Kylee Watson also chipped in 6 rebounds and 3 blocks for the Irish.
While the Irish had some early looks, Hidalgo would finally put Notre Dame on the board with just under seven minutes left in the first. That was followed by a Citron steal off the Orange inbound pass for another quick two to put the Irish up 4-2 at 6:51.
Trailing 8-4, Citron knocked down a pair of free throws to spark a 7-0 run for the Irish as a KK Bransford trey and Hidalgo layup capped off the run to put the Irish in front 11-8.
Syracuse, however, responded with a run of their own as they scored six straight before Hidalgo put away one last bucket on a drive to the rim to bring the Irish within one to close the first quarter at 16-15.
With just over 7 minutes remaining in the half, a Westbeld jump shot gave the Irish the advantage at 21-20. As both squads were struggling to score, it was a tied ball game yet again.
With 3:23 left in the half, the Orange would outscore the Irish 12-6 to close the half 38-32, with Notre Dame’s only offensive production down the stretch coming from two Citron threes.
The second half would prove just as physical and back and forth as the first. While the Orange may have scored the first basket to start the second half, Notre Dame turned it up a notch on the defensive end as they held Syracuse scoreless for the next 3:14.
The effort was equally matched on the offensive end as Notre Dame’s 10-0 run was capped off by a Hidalgo steal and layup to put the Irish back in front at 42-41 with just over five minutes remaining in the third quarter. Notre Dame held the Orange to 2-10 from the floor for another 3 minutes.
The Irish and Orange swapped buckets as Syracuse led 45-44, but Hidalgo and Westbeld each knocked down a pair from the charity stripe to claim the advantage yet again at 48-45. As it looked like a 6-1 Syracuse run was going to close the period, Anna DeWolfe would send home one last jumpshot for Notre Dame to make it a 51-51 ball game heading into the final quarter.
DeWolfe scored 6 straight for the Irish as she knocked down a pair of free throws followed by a made teardrop, scoring all four of Notre Dame’s points in the first 2:38 of play in the quarter.
As the Irish trailed 58-55 with 7:22 remaining, the Syracuse offense began to catch fire as they outscored Notre Dame 16-2 over the next five minutes of play.
Hidalgo would score in transition and knock down a triple with 1:04 left as she was followed by one last Citron trey, but the Irish would fall 79-65 after a strong fourth quarter from Syracuse.
The Irish are back in action on Saturday, Jan. 27 for a quick turnaround as they hit the road again to take on the No. 8 UConn Huskies (16-3) inside of Harry A. Gampel Pavilion.