GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Star freshman Hannah Hidalgo had 22 points — including a pair of baskets for the lead down the stretch — as No. 14 Notre Dame held off No. 10 NC State, 55-51, in Sunday's championship game at the 2024 Ally Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament.
It marked the Irish's first title in five years.
Hidalgo finished with six rebounds and six assists for the fourth-seeded Fighting Irish (26-6), and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. Maddy Westbeld added 16 points and seven boards.
Notre Dame won the ACC Tournament in its first four seasons in the league from 2014-17, lost in the final in 2018, then returned to claim a fifth title in 2019 under Muffet McGraw. But the Irish hadn't been back since the transition to Niele Ivey, a former Notre Dame standout who led the program to the 2001 NCAA title and also served as an assistant coach for McGraw.
Ivey, now 46, took over amid the COVID-19 pandemic as a first-time head coach. Now, she has her first conference title.
And this one came in front of a home-state crowd for NC State filled with plenty of red about 80 miles east of the second-seeded Wolfpack's campus home.
River Baldwin had 14 points and seven rebounds to lead NC State (27-6), while Aziaha James had 12 points on just 5-for-16 shooting.
After Madison Hayes’ missed desperation three-point attempt, Notre Dame’s KK Bransford pulled down the rebound to seal the win. As the final seconds ticked away, Hidalgo — a dynamic player named ACC Defensive Player and Rookie of the Year, and ranking as one of the nation’s top scorers — ran over to start jumping around in what quickly became a bouncing huddle of celebration as the horn sounded.
NC State had won three straight tournament titles from 2020-22, which had marked the program’s first crowns since 1991.
Hidalgo put the Irish ahead to stay at 53-51, losing James around a screen and attacking Baldwin in the paint for a scooping layup while falling to the ground with 1:28 left. She ultimately hit the free throw with 10.5 seconds left to make it a two-possession game.
In a game in which neither team led by more than seven, mistakes loomed large and shots were hard to come by. But the Wolfpack came up empty in two critical moments late, first when Saniya Rivers pushed the ball in transition but threw a kickout pass to the corner and straight out of bounds with 31.9 seconds left in a two-point game.
Then, after a free throw from Sonia Citron, James missed a quality 3-point look from the right wing out of a timeout. Hidalgo followed with her clinching free throw to start the Irish's celebration.
Big Picture
Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish opened the tournament with a quarterfinal win against No. 24 Louisville, then won in a romp against 11th-ranked and reigning ACC champion Virginia Tech — which was playing without three-time league player of the year Elizabeth Kitley — in Saturday’s semifinals.
N.C. State: The Wolfpack opened by edging Duke in a rock-fight quarterfinal Friday marred by bad shooting from both teams, then rolled in Saturday’s semifinals against Florida State. N.C. State, which spent much of the year inside the top 10 nationally, had won at Notre Dame by 16 in mid-February.
Up Next
Both await their NCAA Tournament seeding, with paths likely to start as opening-round hosts.
All-Tournament Team
First Team
Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame (MVP)
Sonia Citron, Notre Dame
Maddy Westbeld, Notre Dame
Aziaha James, NC State
Saniya Rivers, NC State
Second Team
Ta’Niya Latson, Florida State
Makayla Timpson, Florida State
Tonie Morgan, Georgia Tech
River Baldwin, NC State
Georgia Amoore, Virginia Tech
Of Note
- Notre Dame became the first team seeded fourth or lower to win the ACC Women’s Tournament since No. 4 seeds North Carolina and Clemson won in 1998 and 1999, respectively.
- Notre Dame avenged a 59-46 loss to the visiting Wolfpack during the regular season.The Fighting Irish hold an all-time 10-5 series lead and a 4-1 edge in postseason play. Notre Dame defeated NC State in the ACC Tournament for the second consecutive year following a 66-60 victory in the 2023 quarterfinals.
- The Fighting Irish are 6-1 all-time in ACC title games. Notre Dame upped its all-time ACC Tournament record to 22-5 and is 19-5 in tournament games played at Greensboro Coliseum.
- In addition to securing their seventh ACC championship since joining the conference for the 2013-14 season, the Fighting Irish earned the league’s automatic NCAA Tournament berth. It will mark Notre Dame’s 29th NCAA bid and third straight under current head coach Niele Ivey.
- NC State was playing in its 18 ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament final but came up short in its bid for a seventh title. The Wolfpack now stands 61-40 all-time in the ACC Tournament, including a 32-21 mark at the Greensboro Coliseum.
