Louisville Trounced at Notre Dame in Regular Season Finale

The Cardinals lose out on a double bye in the ACC Tournament with their loss to the Fighting Irish.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Hannah Hidalgo scored 26 points, 18 in the second half, and No. 17 Notre Dame rallied past No. 22 Louisville 74-58 on Sunday to wrap up the regular season in the ACC.

Hidalgo made 7 of 11 shots and 12 of 15 free throws to go with eight rebounds, four assists and six steals. Sonia Citron added 18 points, Maddy Westbeld had 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Kylee Watson had 10 points for Notre Dame (23-6, 13-5 ACC).

The Fighting Irish clinched the fourth seed in the ACC Tournament and will have a double bye. Louisville dropped to the fifth seed with a single bye. The event begins Wednesday in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Sydney Taylor scored 11 points and was the only player in double figures for Louisville (23-8, 12-6).

Notre Dame scored 15 points in the first four minutes of the third quarter, turning a seven-point halftime deficit into a 44-41 lead. The Irish didn’t let up, making 9 of their first 10 shots, and with the help of a 13-0 run they took a 57-42 lead with 1:04 remaining. Louisville, meanwhile, opened the third with 10 misses in 11 attempts.

Notre Dame had more points in the third quarter (30) than in the first half (29) and took a 59-46 lead to the fourth quarter. Hidalgo finished off the game with 3-for-3 shooting and 3-for-3 from the line in the fourth quarter. Louisville made only four shots in the fourth and was never within double digits.

Anna DeWolfe’s early bucket gave Notre Dame a 2-0 lead but the Irish did not lead again until Citron’s 3-pointer gave them a 17-15 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Louisville went out front again in the second quarter and although the score was tied four times, Notre Dame did not recapture the lead. A layup by Citron had Notre Dame within 31-29 but Nyla Harris made a layup and Merissah Russell buried a 3-pointer to put Louisville ahead 36-29 at halftime. Louisville led for 13 minutes in the first half; Notre Dame for about 90 seconds.

Notre Dame has won five in a row.

(Photo of Sydney Taylor: Matt Cashore - USA TODAY Sports)

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