GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP)  — ACC Player of the Year Hannah Hidalgo scored 25 points and No. 6 Notre Dame took over down the stretch to beat California 73-64 on Friday night in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Ally Atlantic Coast Women’s Basketball Tournament.
 
Olivia Miles added 14 points and six assists for the second-seeded Fighting Irish (26-4), the tournament’s reigning champion. Notre Dame had won the regular-season meeting in a blowout, but trailed by six midway through the third quarter and led by just three with 7 1/2 minutes left in the game.
 
The Fighting Irish advanced to Saturday’s semifinals to play the winner of Friday night’s Louisville versus Duke quarterfinal. That game is scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. ET start and will be televised nationally on ESPN2. Notre Dame won the regular-season meeting at Louisville by an 89-71 score on February 2 and defeated Duke 66-49 on February 17 in South Bend, Indiana.
 
Cal (25-8) will await their NCAA Tournament destination.
 
Lulu Twidale scored 16 points and made four 3-pointers for the seventh-seeded Golden Bears. Marta Suarez added 14 points and 11 rebounds for her second straight double-double.
 
Takeaways
California: The Golden Bears opened their first ACC Tournament by beating Virginia in Thursday’s second round. That earned them a rematch with the Fighting Irish after losing 91-52 in South Bend, Indiana, nearly a month earlier, and they gave the Irish fits before fading as Notre Dame took over.
 
Notre Dame: Much like top-seeded and seventh-ranked NC State earlier Friday, Notre Dame had a tough grind to push through its tournament opener.
 
Key moment
Cal led 47-41 midway through the third quarter when the Fighting Irish ran off a 12-0 game-turning run. Miles and Hidalgo combined for 10 points, with Miles knocking down a stepback 3-pointer over a defender to put Notre Dame up 48-47 on the way to a six-point lead at the end of the burst.
 
Key stat
California shot 45.8%, but the Bears committed 28 turnovers that led to 28 points for the Fighting Irish.
 
Of note

• Notre Dame improved to 22-5 all-time in the ACC Tournament and 19-5 in tourney games played at First Horizon Coliseum. The Fighting Irish are in search of their seventh ACC title since joining the conference prior to the 2013-14 season.
• Friday night’s loss snapped a four-game Cal winning streak, but the Golden Bears have won six of their last eight games. The strong finish, coupled with regular-season wins over ranked NC State, Florida State and Alabama, figure to enhance Cal’s NCAA resume. The tournament bracket will be unveiled March 16.