Tough one
The Notre Dame women’s basketball team walked into Raleigh against the NC State Wolfpack as the #1 in the country, but that ranking might now be in jeopardy. The Irish lost a double-overtime heartbreaker to NC State, 104-95.
From the ND press release:
Irish Fall Short in Double-Overtime Contest at No. 13 NC State
RALEIGH, N.C. — Notre Dame’s 19-game win streak came to an end on Sunday, as the top-ranked Irish (24-3, 15-1) fell to No. 13 NC State (22-5, 14-2) in a double overtime battle, 104-95.
It was the definition of a back-and-forth affair. There were 21 ties and 21 lead changes over the course of the 50 minutes. Sonia Citron hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of regulation to send it to bonus basketball, and she finished with 23 points. Hannah Hidalgo led Notre Dame with 26, while Olivia Miles had 22. Liatu King had 16 points and 14 rebounds for her 11th double-double of the year.
The Wolfpack notched an early lead at 12-5 before Notre Dame scored 6 straight. From there it was an offensive back and forth contest — every Irish bucket seemingly had a counter from NC State, who led until the end of the first frame, 23-20.
Hidalgo took the lead back on a fast break triple at 8:18 in the second quarter. The Wolfpack responded with a 4-0 run to regain the lead 27-25. The squads traded baskets with Miles scoring 5 straight for the Irish before a Maddy Westbeld finish at the rim would tie it up again 32-all.
The Irish continued to push in transition as Citron would score on the fastbreak followed by a Westbeld steal and finish to put Notre Dame back in front 36-35. Notre Dame was held scoreless in the final 1:52 and the Wolfpack led 40-36 at the half. It is the first time this year the Irish have trailed at the break.
Hidalgo and Miles led the offensive charge with 14 and 10, respectively, after the first two quarters, recording all four Notre Dame’s treys. The Irish played a clean half on both sides of the ball, committing just a pair of turnovers and keeping the Wolfpack from getting to the free throw line.
As she so often does, Citron came alive for the third quarter with 10 points and a 5-7 showing from the floor. She helped Notre Dame reclaim the lead, 51-50, on a fast break layup with 3:48 in the quarter left. The Irish made six consecutive baskets, but the run was broken by a Madison Hayes 3-pointer from the corner. Of Notre Dame’s 22 points in the quarter, 18 came in the paint as the Irish could seemingly only score downhill.
The Irish led 58-57 to start the final quarter. A pair of Hidalgo free throws put the Irish in front 77-76 with 1:15 remaining, but a 4-0 run from NC State gave the Wolfpack an 80-77 edge. Miles responded with a finish at the rim with 18 seconds left, but another pair of NC State free throws would extend the lead to 82-79.
Citron didn’t shy away from challenge and delivered when the Irish needed it most – she knocked down the contested triple from the right wing as the time expired in regulation to take Notre Dame into overtime at 84-all.
The Citron Show continued in overtime. While each team was aggressive to score, the other always had an answer. Citron would score the first Irish basket of overtime and went on to score 6 of Notre Dame’s 8 OT points. Ultimately, it was an even scoring slate of 8-8 to take it into a second overtime at 92-all.
The Wolfpack opened the second overtime period with a 6-0 run, taking the 98-92 advantage and forcing an Irish timeout at 2:50. The run continued, broken up by Notre Dame’s only basket of the period, a Miles trey. Hidalgo and Miles both fouled out in the second overtime period as the Wolfpack would go on to take their 20th straight home win, 104-95.
Notre Dame closes out the regular season at home on Thursday and Sunday, as they host Florida State and Louisville, respectively. The Irish beat the Cardinals at their place on Feb. 2.
