Notre Dame falls to Duke 61-56 in ACC Tournament

Not great

Something is wrong in South Bend. On Saturday, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish lost to the Duke Blue Devils 61-56 in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament. For the Irish, it’s the third loss in five games — and not long after they were ranked as the #1 team in the country. With the NCAA Tournament coming up, it’s back to the drawing board for Niele Ivey and the Irish.

From the ND press release:

Irish Can’t Overcome Blue Devils In ACC Semis

GREENSBORO, N.C. — After a quarterfinal win over No. 7 Cal on Friday, No. 2 Notre Dame fell to third seed Duke in the ACC Tournament semis, 61-56.

Hannah Hidalgo led the Irish with 23 points and 6 steals. Both Sonia Citron and Maddy Westbeld had 4 steals themselves, and Citron added a pair of blocks in what was a defensive battle between two of the conference’s best at it.

The Irish forced 21 turnovers but couldn’t make enough shots down the stretch, shooting 37.5 percent from the floor on the day. They scored just 25 points in the second half, their lowest total in a half this season behind 29 points in the second half against Texas in December.

Notre Dame will head back to South Bend this week and await its seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Selection Sunday is March 16.