Being atop the ACC alone will have to wait.
Notre Dame undoubtedly had its visit to NC State circled on this year’s schedule. After all, the Wolfpack knocked the Irish out of the 2022 NCAA Tournament with a thrilling come-from-behind victory. Revenge had to have been on the Irish’s mind. That revenge will have to wait for another time as the Wolfpack held off a late Irish run and won 69-65.
The Irish (17-3, 8-2), who were unable to move into first outright in the ACC after Duke’s loss earlier in the day, got off to a good start with 20 first-quarter points. After that, the Wolfpack (16-5, 6-4) mostly controlled the direction of the next two quarters, leading by as much as 16. Having already lost [autotag]Dara Mabrey[/autotag] for the season and with [autotag]Lauren Ebo[/autotag] also injured, things looked grim for the Irish.
The fourth quarter saw the Irish work their way back on both ends as they cut the deficit to three with 11 unanswered points. They eventually got within two but just couldn’t get any closer despite opportunities to do so. Facing what turned out to be the final score in the last half-minute, they weren’t able to shake the Wolfpack’s defense and took too long developing a play that would give them a decent look. Even when they did get a couple of 3-pointers off, neither fell, and that was that.
Diamond Johnson led all scorers with 20 points and also led the Wolfpack with eight rebounds. Once the conference’s leading 3-point shooter this season, she made a game-high four shots from beyond the arc. Complimenting her was Mimi Collins and her 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
The Irish wasted an incredible game from [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag], who had 19 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, two steals and one block. [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] also dished out five assists to go with 13 points, six boards and three steals. [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] scored 11 despite shooting 3 of 12 from the field, but it was a rough day for the Irish’s backcourt as she and Miles committed five turnovers each. [autotag]Cassandre Prosper[/autotag] also had 11 points coming off the bench.
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