Tag: acc women’s basketball

Photos of Notre Dame ACC Tournament semifinal win vs. Virginia Tech

See how this latest win went down.

Notre Dame will play in the ACC Tournament championship game for the seventh time after beating Virginia Tech, 82-53, in the semifinals. The last time the Irish got this opportunity was when they got it during their first six years in the conference, winning five times. But it hasn’t happened since 2019, so this next opportunity has been waiting for a while.

Unfortunately for the Irish, the title game and possibly the NCAA Tournament might come and go without [autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag]. The starting forward injured her knee in the third quarter against the Hokies and went back to the locker room. When she came back, she was on crutches, and that’s not good for an Irish team that has been stretched thin by injuries all season. All anyone can do right now is hope for the best with her.

In the meantime, here are some images from the win over the Hokies:

Notre Dame beats Virginia Tech but loses Watson in ACC Tournament semi

This latest victory might have been costly.

Notre Dame faced the ACC Tournament’s top seed in Virginia Tech for its semifinal game. With the Hokies missing injured conference player of the year Elizabeth Kitley and the Irish having beaten them a week ago with her, everything trended in their direction. But the Irish suffered their own bad injury luck during their dominant 82-53 victory that put them in the tournament championship game.

The Irish (25-6) led almost the entire game, and any hope the Hokies (24-7) had were dashed when the Irish scored 20 unanswered points between the second and third quarters. However, the high the Irish were on was dampened when [autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag] went down with a left knee injury and had to be helped back to the locker room. While she did put some weight on the knee and eventually returned to the Irish’s bench with crutches, both the team and fans undoubtedly will hold their collective breath as they await word on her condition.

While the Hokies were able to cut the deficit to 15 after Watson went out, the Irish found yet another wind despite taking another hit to their depth. Before it was over, they went back up by as much as 32. The Hokies simply had no answers for the Irish no matter who was or wasn’t on the court.

[autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] was the Irish’s best player on the afternoon by virtue of leading them with 19 points, seven rebounds and three steals. [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] scored 18 points and blocked three shots. [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] had 15 points and six assists, and [autotag]Anna DeWolfe[/autotag] got 12 of her 14 points on four 3-pointers.

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Notre Dame projected as No. 4 seed or better in all bracketologies

The Irish might not be done playing at home yet this year.

In beating both Virginia Tech and Louisville last week, Notre Dame did what it needed to do to move up bracketologists’ projections. Every available bracketology now projects the Irish to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. ESPN, CBS Sports and Her Hoop Stats all have the Irish as a No. 4 seed in their latest updates. College Sports Madness projects them as a No. 3.

Connor Groel, the women’s bracketologist for CBS Sports, wrote the following about the Irish in his latest update:

“It’s been a terrific close to the season from Notre Dame, who now have a chance to perhaps even jump to a No. 3 seed, equaling last season’s result despite [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] having missed the entire year. [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] exceeded all expectations and was named both ACC Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year while [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] is playing some of her best basketball as of late.”

With the Irish one of the four ACC Tournament semifinalists, they have another chance to make their case. Hopefully, they won’t need to with the case possibly already having been made.

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Virginia Tech coach Kenny Brooks talks Notre Dame ahead of rematch

See what the next opposing coach had to say about the Irish.

After Notre Dame defeated Louisville in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals, Virginia Tech beat Miami, 55-47. That sets a semifinal rematch between the Irish and top-seeded Hokies after the teams met in South Bend only a week ago. The Irish won that game, so the Hokies will be out for revenge.

The big question surrounding the Hokies is the health of three-time ACC Player of the Year Elizabeth Kitley, who was injured in the Hokies’ regular-season finale at Virginia and didn’t play Friday. In fact, she won’t play at all in this tournament.

Hokies coach Kenny Brooks was asked about the upcoming rematch in his postgame news conference and said the following:

“Bruh, can I just enjoy this one for a second? Notre Dame is playing as well as anyone in the country right now. We experienced it last week, their physicality – they’re a little bit different than they were last year. They’re tenacious on the defensive end, obviously with the addition of (Hannah) Hidalgo.

They got off to a great start today. And bless his heart, I’m in my locker room, and I think we’re on like a three, four, five-second delay in watching the game and what happens, and Jeff Walz gets thrown out. He gets thrown out, and two seconds later, boom, my door flies open, and it’s Jeff Walz.

I did thank him for their comeback and making Notre Dame play harder down the stretch, to be able to do that.

They’re playing well. They’re playing extremely well. Hidalgo really makes them go. (Sonia) Citron – I’ve said it before – is one of my favorite players. She just doesn’t get rattled. (Maddy) Westbeld is playing really well right now. They don’t play a lot of people, but the people who play are playing well.

We know it’s going to be a tough task. We’ll get back, and we’ll figure some things out, and we’ll try to see what happens.”

This shows the Hokies won’t take the Irish lightly, so the Irish better be ready to play whether Kitley is available or not. Whatever the case though, it should be a good game.

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Photos of Notre Dame’s ACC Tournament quarterfinal win vs. Louisville

See some visuals of the victory.

The second season officially has begun for Notre Dame. Every opponent it faces from here on will be playing either for NCAA Tournament seeding or to keep its season alive. That began in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament, which resulted in a 77-68 win over Louisville, the Irish’s second time beating the Cardinals in as many games.

The Irish aren’t sure if they’ve done enough to convince the selection committee that they should earn a top-four seed and thus host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. All they know is they can’t leave it up to chance and will collect as many wins as they can before the decision is out of their hands. Such is life when you want to put your team in the best position possible.

If you missed this game because you were at work or school or whatever, these photos should have you covered:

Notre Dame survives late Louisville surge to win ACC Tournament opener

A pretty close call, but they’ll play Saturday.

The ACC Tournament is here, and Notre Dame got its first taste of it in the quarterfinals against Louisville. The Irish beat the Cardinals in their regular-season finale Sunday, and now, they had to do it again five days later. It got a little tense towards the end, but the Irish advanced to the semifinals with a 77-68 win.

The Irish (24-6) never trailed in the game and led by as much as 22. Even with the lead cut to 12 going into the fourth quarter, they had to feel good about themselves. But the Cardinals (24-9) chipped away at the lead further with inspired play on both ends, even forcing four Irish players into at least four fouls. They ultimately got to within three with just over half a minute left.

By the time the Cardinals made it a one-possession game though, it was late enough in the game that were forced to foul, and [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] made two free throws to put the Irish back up five. A steal by [autotag]KK Bransford[/autotag] on the next possession finally iced the game, and she and Citron made four more free throws in the final seconds to wrap up the Irish’s scoring. Two of those were prompted by Cardinals coach Jeff Walz picking up his second technical foul, resulting in his ejection.

Citron led all scorers with 26 points, which including make 10 of 11 free throws. [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag], who scored 21 points, shot only 5 of 16 from the field but was 11 of 14 from the charity stripe, and she also had a game-high six assists. [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] had 13 points and also joined Hidalgo and the fouled-out [autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag] in a group whose members grabbed six rebounds apiece.

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Niele Ivey confirms Olivia Miles’ Notre Dame return for 2024-25 season

Any rumors about transferring can be squashed.

With [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] having taken this season by storm the way few others have, it’s safe to call her the face of Notre Dame. For the previous two years, it was [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag], who has missed this entire season with a knee injury. With Hidalgo and Miles playing the same position, questions arose about whether Miles would stick with the Irish.

Miles’ future in South Bend no longer is in doubt. Speaking ahead of the Irish’s trip to the ACC Tournament, [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] announced that Miles had given her permission to publicly relay that she will return to the Irish for the 2024-25 season. That means Irish fans will see their dream backcourt of Miles and Hidalgo come to pass.

In her first two full seasons, Miles made the All-ACC First Team and led the conference in assists both times. She also was a Second Team All-American in 2023 and had three triple-doubles. One of those was the first for a freshman, men or women, in the NCAA Tournament. That came in the Irish’s 2022 first-round victory over UMass (12 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists).

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UNC WBB captains bring home All-ACC Honors

Deja Kelly and Alyssa Ustby are the two greatest reasons UNC is a competitive team this season. They both earned recognition on Tuesday.

In a loaded ACC women’s basketball conference, the North Carolina Tar Heels sit right in the middle.

UNC (19-11, 11-7) is eighth heading into tomorrow’s ACC Tournament, which is rightfully so in Tournament Town (Greensboro, NC). North Carolina will matchup against ninth-ranked Miami (18-11, 8-10) at 1:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 7. The Tar Heels squeaked by the Hurricanes, 66-61, back on Thursday, Jan. 25 at home.

UNC is projected as a 6-seed in the latest NCAA Tournament Women’s Bracketology, with them slated for a matchup with potential 11-seed Auburn. North Carolina can possibly improve its seeding with a couple victories this week.

The Tar Heels wouldn’t be where they are today without their two best players, Deja Kelly and Alyssa Ustby. Kelly continues to lead UNC in scoring at 16.8 points per game, while Ustby nearly averages a double-double with 12.3 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.

Kelly and Ustby were recognized for their contributions earlier Tuesday, with Kelly earning All-ACC First Team Honors and Ustby joining the Second Team.

There’s a slim chance Kelly and Ustby could return next year, but both are likely to be selected in next month’s WNBA Draft. It would be a fitting end to their collegiate careers, with both being integral parts in building the program UNC is today.

Right now, the star-studded duo’s focus is on winning the ACC and – later – the NCAA Tournament.

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Notre Dame’s Sonia Citron, Maddy Westbeld make All-ACC Second Team

Two players have made all-conference again.

[autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] and [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] are true seasoned leaders for Notre Dame. It only makes sense for them to be recognized by their conference again. Citron and Westbeld have been named to the All-ACC Second Team.

This is the third all-conference selection for Westbeld and her second on the Second Team. So far this season, she is averaging 14.1 points and a career-high 9.4 rebounds a game. She has reached double digits in rebounds 13 times and recorded 12 double-doubles.

After missing time early in the season with injury, Citron has bounced back nicely to play in 20 games and earn her second straight All-ACC selection. She is averaging career highs in scoring (16.3) and assists (2.7). She also has 1.7 steals a game and has tied her career-high of four steals in a game twice this season.

Everyone talks about All-ACC First Team selection [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag], who also was the conference’s top rookie and defensive player, but she can’t do as much if Citron and Westbeld aren’t around. They’re just as deserving of recogntion no matter how much attention Hidalgo gets.

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Hannah Hidalgo named ACC Rookie and Defensive Player of the Year

Congrats, Hannah!

The announcement really only was a formality at this point, but now, it’s official. Notre Dame’s [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] has been named the ACC Rookie of the Year and the Defensive Player of the Year. Those obviously mean spots on the conference’s All-Freshman Team and All-Defensive Team. She also made the All-ACC First Team.

Hidalgo is the ninth Notre Dame player since the program joined the ACC to make the All-Freshman Team and the fourth to make the All-Defensive Team. She also is the 11th to be named to the All-ACC First Team.

During the regular season, Hidalgo was named the ACC Rookie of the Week a record 12 times and the conference’s Player of the Week three times. On her way to setting those marks, she’s become the third-highest scorer nationally at 23.8 points a game, and she leads the nation in steals at 4.9 a game.

Now, Hidalgo gets to play at a higher level with the ACC Tournament and NCAA Tournament on the horizon. It will be interesting to see what more she does.

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