Notre Dame fell to Duke again in the ACC tournament, but coach Niele Ivey insisted the loss won't define her team. On Saturday, Notre Dame lost 65-63 in the semifinals after rallying from a first-half deficit and taking a third-quarter lead. Duke shut the door in a tight fourth quarter. Notre Dame missed three late shots that could have won it. Ivey says this group has matured and plays for each other. Hannah Hidalgo led the Irish with 24 points, eight rebounds, and four steals. Hidalgo repeated as ACC Player and Defensive Player of the Year this year. Notre Dame awaits selection Sunday for its March Madness fate.
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Imari Berry scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead No. 12 Louisville past No. 16 North Carolina 65-57 in a semifinal of the ACC Tournament. The No. 2 seed Cardinals led by five points heading to the fourth quarter and quickly pushed their lead to 10. Third-seeded North Carolina cut it to 52-46 midway through the quarter before Berry scored Louisville’s next six points, leading to a 58-48 advantage with two minutes left. North Carolina cut it to five points with 21 seconds remaining, but Louisville closed it out at the free-throw line. Louisville will play top-seeded Duke in the championship game on Sunday.
Kiki Rice scored 17 points to lead five UCLA players in double figures and the Bruins won their school-record 24th consecutive game, 72-62 over No. 11 Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. Conference Player of the Year Lauren Betts and Angela Dugalic each scored 14 points for the Bruins, who led the entire way. Gianna Kneepkens scored 13 points and Gabriela Jaquez added 10 points. Chance Gray led the fifth-seeded Buckeyes with 23 points, hitting 6 of 11 shots and seven free throws. Jaloni Cambridge added 12 points and Elsa Lemmila had 10 points for the Buckeyes.
Top-seeded Duke survived a late Notre Dame push for a 65-63 ACC women's tournament win on Saturday. Notre Dame shook off a slow start and grabbed its first lead late in the third quarter. The Irish led by three entering the fourth, but Duke answered in a tight back-and-forth finish. A Duke three-pointer made it 64-60 with just over a minute left, but Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo grabbed a clutch steal and hit a 3-pointer. Notre Dame had three late chances to score but fell short. Duke will move on to the title game against the winner of Louisville vs. North Carolina.
Ava Heiden scored 16 points and Hannah Stuelke finished with 13 points and five rebounds despite playing with an injured right elbow, leading No. 9 Iowa past 10th-seeded Illinois 64-58 and into Saturday’s Big Ten Tournament semifinals. The Hawkeyes have won seven straight and need two more wins to capture their fifth conference tourney crown in eight years. Jasmine Brown-Haggard finished with 22 points and Berry Wallace added 11 points as the conference’s youngest team played its third game in three nights. The Fighting Illini fell behind by double digits early and couldn't back within single digits until the final minute.
Joyce Edwards scored 21 points, Madina Okot added 12 points and 13 rebounds and No. 3 South Carolina routed 17th-ranked Kentucky 87-64 in the first of four Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinal games. Tessa Johnson added 15 points and Ta’Niya Latson 12 for the top-seeded Gamecocks, who raced to a 17-point halftime lead. South Carolina looked focused as it began its quest for a fourth straight SEC Tournament title and 10th in the past 12 seasons under coach Dawn Staley, shooting 53% from the field, forcing 19 turnovers and outscoring Kentucky 46-24 in the paint. Amelia Hassett had 15 points and Clara Strack scored 13 for Kentucky.
Tajianna Roberts scored 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting, Mackenly Randolph had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 12 Louisville beat Syracuse 87-61 in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament. Second-seeded Louisville (26-6) plays No. 3 seed and 16th-ranked North Carolina in the semifinals Saturday. Reyna Scott had 15 points, Skylar Jones scored 12 and Imari Berry and Laura Ziegler each added 11. No. 7 seed Syracuse (23-8) announced before the game that Dominique Darius — who averages 12.6 points and has a team-high 106 assists this season — would miss the rest of the tournament due to a hand injury suffered in Orange’s 70-59 win over California in the second round. Uche Izoje had 22 points and nine rebounds for the Orange.
Big Ten Player of the Year Lauren Betts had 26 points and eight rebounds and Kiki Rice added 18 points and six assists to help No. 2 UCLA overcome a sluggish start and beat Washington 78-60 in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. UCLA faces No. 11 Ohio State in Saturday’s first semifinal. The regular-season champion Bruins won their 23rd consecutive game to tie a school record as they try to win their second straight Big Ten tourney crown. Avery Howell finished with 18 points to lead the Huskies, who had a two-game winning streak snapped.
Elsa Lemmila had 17 points and 11 rebounds, Jaloni Cambridge also scored 17, and No. 11 Ohio State beat No. 19 Minnesota 60-55 in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament. Fourth-seeded Ohio State (26-6) plays No. 1 seed and second-ranked UCLA in the semifinals Saturday. Cambridge added six assists, five rebounds and three steals. Chance Gray hit three 3-pointers and finished with 13 points. Mara Braun hit a 3-pointer that cut Minnesota’s deficit to 58-55 with 1:32 left in the game. Neither team scored again until Cambridge made a jumper with 16 seconds left that capped the scoring. Grace Grocholski led No. 5 seed Minnesota (22-9) with 18 points and Sophie Hart added 12 points and a career-high 19 rebounds
Hannah Hidalgo scored 25 points, Iyana Moore added 17 points, nine rebounds and three steals, and No. 5 seed Notre Dame beat fourth-seeded N.C. State 81-63 in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament. Notre Dame (22-9), which has won seven in a row and nine of 10, plays top-seeded Duke in the semifinals Saturday. Hildalgo, who also had five rebounds and five assists, has scored at least 25 points in six consecutive games. Cassandre Prosper scored 13 points for the Irish. N.C. State (20-10) had its three-game win streak snapped. Khamil Pierre had 17 points and 14 rebounds — her 21st double-double this season — for the Wolfpack. Moore hit a 3-pointer 48 seconds into the game and Notre Dame led the rest of the way.