No. 17 ND women take pivotal ACC win vs. Louisville
SOUTH BEND – Louisville tried all day to knock guards Hannah Hidalgo and Sonia Citron off their marks.
Ultimately, though, Hidalgo and Citron led the way in knocking the Cardinals down the Atlantic Coast Conference standings in a pivotal women’s basketball game for both sides Sunday afternoon at lathered-up and sold-out Purcell Pavilion.
With a stunningly lopsided thirdquarter scoring advantage of 30-10 that was reflective of the dominance and that turned a 36-29 halftime deficit into a distant memory, the Irish won 74-58 to wrap up a three-way tie for second place in the final ACC standings and a double bye, by virtue of a top-four seed, at next week’s league tourney in Greensboro, N.C.
No. 17-ranked ND (23-6, 13-5) will play in an 11 a.m. quarterfinal Friday, and could very well see No. 22 Louisville (23-8, 12-6) for a third time. As the fifth seed, the Cards go Thursday against the survivor of Wednesday’s 12-13 matchup between Clemson and Boston College (each 5-13 in the ACC).
Hidalgo, a leading contender for national freshman of the year honors, scored 18 of her game-high 26 points in the second half to go with eight rebounds, six steals and four assists. Citron added 17 points and a career-high four blocked shots.
Both mighty mites of sorts — Hidalgo’s 5-6, Citron a streamlined 6-1 — spent a lot of time getting up off the floor in a rugged game, their performances never compromised.
Each had at least one instance of staying down unusually long on hard contact, but each bounced up smiling.
“I feel like you feel a lot less sore when you win,” Citron said with a grin of how much her body might ache in the next couple days.
“I mean, Louisville’s a physical team,” Hidalgo concurred, “so we kind of expect that and prepare for that, but we have a great trainer, so we’ll be OK.
She’ll take care of us.”
Maddy Westbeld added 11 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, while Kylee Watson stepped up with 10 points, her highest output in her last nine outings, as the surging Irish won their fifth straight game to back up Thursday’s 7158 victory over league champion Virginia Tech.
“Tremendous just to (win) two incredible matchups going back-to-back, the crowd, sold-out arena, the energy, the way this team is bonding and gelling right now, it’s just phenomenal,” ND coach Niele Ivey said. “I’m so proud of this group. I’m proud of the way we fought.”
Louisville, which won the clubs’ first meeting 73-66 at home just over three weeks earlier, was led in the rematch by Sydney Taylor with 11 points.
Script flip
The Cardinals not only owned that 36-29 lead at halftime, but owned some momentum to go with it, ending the second quarter on a 9-2 spurt.
Momentum proved useless, though, after the cooling-off period.
The Irish scored the first seven points of the third quarter in just 1:38 to draw even at 36-36 and never let up until sufficiently comfortable, leading 68-51 inside of six minutes left in the game.
“I think a lot changed,” Citron said of what did after halftime, “but I would say the most important thing is we were getting stops and getting out in transition.”
Getting stops came with all man-toman defense against the Hokies, but ND went back to blending in zone looks against Louisville.
“I felt like the last two minutes of the second quarter, they got downhill with ease,” Ivey said of the Cardinals, “so I felt like I gotta throw something else at them, try to get more help. Our zone is just built-in help.”
It proved built-in nasty on the visitors, who made just 6-of-28 second-half attempts from the field (including 2of-17 in the third quarter), while the Irish were draining 17-of-31 (including 11-of-13 in the third quarter).
Summarized Ivey, “We got great stops and we rebounded and we got a chance to get out in transition, and it was electric.”
Living at the line
Hidalgo repeatedly crossed-up and crossed-over the Cards with her steals and her drives, often doing damage on the break, but also sometimes in the half-court.
The mix helped her produce a careerhigh 15 free throw attempts — one more than Louisville had as a team — with 12 makes.
“The game can definitely come down to who makes the most at the free throw line,” said Hidalgo, who added 7-of-11 from the field on a sweetly efficient afternoon. “The bigs did a great job of setting screens. I … was just kind of reading whether (Louisville) would step up, then I could just blow by, and kind of just drawing contact.”
Unknowns for Maddy, ND
The Irish left the court not knowing if they’ll play again this season in Purcell, where Sunday’s game marked their second sellout of the winter.
To be back, they’ll need to be deemed a top-16 overall seed when the NCAA Tournament selection committee announces its 68-team field on March 17.
Top-16 teams get the opportunity to host during the first two full rounds, and the Irish are generally perceived to be right on the bubble.
For Westbeld, the team’s steadiest and sturdiest player over the last four years, the not knowing kind of mirrors her own situation. She indicated again Sunday that she has not decided if she’ll return for the fifth season that is available to her.
“There’s a lot of unknowns for me,” Westbeld said, “so I’m just trying to really lock in on every single moment I have here. … Just trying to take every step at a time and really appreciate what I have here with my girls and my coaches.”
Moment of silence
A moment of silence was observed before the game for Notre Dame sophomore and fencing team member Spencer Vermeule, killed in an Elkhart County single-car accident Saturday.
Ivey led off her postgame by addressing Vermeule’s death.
“Such a tragic loss for the Notre Dame community and for the fencing program,” Ivey said, “so my heart and prayers go out to them, Spencer and his family.”
Ivey said she learned about Vermeule on her way to Purcell on Sunday.
“It puts things into perspective as far as life and how short it is,” Ivey said. “We get a chance to do what we love and have this opportunity. That’s what’s been in the back of my mind (today), just being grateful and appreciative of life.”
Notre Dame 74, Louisville 58
LOUISVILLE (23-8): Cochran 2-5 3-4 7, Harris 4-9 0-0 8, Jefferson 3-7 2-2 9, Rickards 3-6 1-2 7, Taylor 3-13 4-4 11, Istanbulluoglu 0-2 0-0 0, Mobley 0-0 0-0 0, van Schaik 0-0 0-0 0, Curry 3-11 1-2 7, Russell 4-5 0-0 9, Totals 22-58 11-14 58
NOTRE DAME (23-6): Watson 4-5 2-4 10, Westbeld 5-10 1-2 11, Citron 6-12 3-4 17, DeWolfe 2-7 0-0 5, Hidalgo 7-11 12-15 26, Marshall 0-2 0-0 0, Obinma 0-0 0-0 0, Bransford 2-5 0-0 5, Cernugel 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 26-52 18-25 74
Louisville 15 21 10 12 — 58 Notre Dame 17 12 30 15 — 74 3-Point Goals_Louisville 3-14 (Jefferson 1-1, Taylor 1-6, Istanbulluoglu 0-2, Curry 0-3, Russell 1-2), Notre Dame 4-11 (Westbeld 0-1, Citron 2-6, DeWolfe 1-3, Bransford 1-1). Assists_Louisville 6 (Harris 2, Taylor 2), Notre Dame 12 (Hidalgo 4). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_Louisville 31 (Cochran 6, Jefferson 6), Notre Dame 36 (Westbeld 11). Total Fouls_Louisville 21, Notre Dame 16. Technical Fouls_None. A_9,149.