No. 6 Notre Dame may have lost a No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA women’s basketball tournament, taking a 61-56 defeat to No. 11 Duke in the semifinals of the ACC tourney on Saturday. At the very least, the Fighting Irish will not be playing for the conference tournament championship.
The Blue Devils’ defense presented problems for the Irish throughout the game, keeping Notre Dame to its lowest point total of the season. The Irish (26-5, 16-2 ACC) only scored nine baskets in the second half, shot 38% for the game and were held 30 points below their 2024-25 season average.
ACC player of the year Hannah Hidalgo was limited to only eight points in the second half, finishing with 23 on 9-of-22 shooting. She also had six steals. Olivia Miles was the only other Notre Dame player in double digits with 10 points. But she was limited after rolling her ankle in the first half. Sonia Citron finished with nine.
Citron hit a 3-pointer to cut Duke’s lead to 54-51, but the Irish couldn’t get any closer in the game’s remaining four minutes.
Oluchi Okananwa led the Blue Devils with 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Jackson added 12 points, but had a rough shooting day, making 3-of-17 shots from the floor. Delaney Thomas finished with eight points, seven rebounds and three steals. Led by Okananwa and Thomas, Duke outrebounded Notre Dame, 38-26.
Duke (25-7, 14-4) will play No. 7 NC State on Sunday for the ACC tournament championship. The Wolfpack defeated in-state rival No. 14 North Carolina earlier on Saturday, 66-55. Tipoff is at 1 p.m. ET and will be televised on ESPN.
Following a two-week road trip and playing their second game within 24 hours, the Warriors shook off their early lethargy to summon enough energy to drop their own personal colossus Friday night.
With Stephen Curry leading the way, scoring 36 points, the Warriors came together for a 118-104 victory over Denver, snapping a nine-game regular-season losing streak against the Nuggets.