The University of Notre Dame women’s basketball team earned its sixth Atlantic Coast Conference championship and first since 2019 with a 55-51 victory over NC State on Sunday afternoon. The Irish closed out the title game with a 12-2 run while the Wolfpack managed to connect on just one of their last nine field goal attempts.
Hannah Hidalgo led Notre Dame with a game-high 22 points while Maddy Westbeld scored 14 of her 16 points in the second half. Sonia Citron joined Hidalgo and Westbeld in playing all 40 minutes of the game and chipping in 11 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals.
Citron started 3-3 from the floor, including a 3-pointer, as the Irish earned an early lead in the game. The Wolfpack had an answer for her, and the game turned into a track meet with no fouls and a combined 24 points before the media break. Offense was harder to come by for the final 4 minutes of the quarter, which ended 15-14 in favor of NC State.
Despite scoring 14 in the second quarter, Notre Dame had to work for every point. Five players scored in the quarter, with Hidalgo leading the way with 5. She drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer, giving Notre Dame its largest lead of the day at 28-22. The Wolfpack closed out the half just 2-10 from the floor.
Notre Dame struggled to rebound coming out of the locker room. River Baldwin started to dominate in the paint, but she also had three fouls midway through the third quarter.
The Wolfpack built a six-point lead with 7:09 remaining in the game but the Irish rallied with back-to-back 3-pointers from Westbeld and two buckets from Hidalgo to take a 2-point lead with 1:28 remaining. Single free throws from Citron and Hidalgo cemented the victory in the game’s final minute.
Notre Dame will now have just under two weeks off before NCAA Tournament play. The Irish will find out their seed on March 17.