Defensive Effort Propels Duke into ACC Finals
from www.theacc.com:
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Oluchi Okananwa had 14 points off the bench and Ashlon Jackson scored 12 to help No. 11 Duke beat No. 6 Notre Dame 61-56 in the 2025 Ally ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament semifinals on Saturday, March 8.
The third-seeded Blue Devils (25-7) will meet No. 7 NC State, the top seed, in the ACC title game on Sunday, March 9 (1 p.m. ET, ESPN). It will be the Blue Devils’ first time playing in that game in eight years. NC State beat No. 14 North Carolina 66-55 in Saturday’s first semifinal matchup.
Hannah Hidalgo had 14 of her 23 points in the first half and Olivia Miles had 10 points for second-seeded Notre Dame (26-5).
Duke held Notre Dame to 25 second-half points, and the Fighting Irish’s 56 total points were a season low.
The Blue Devils avenged a regular-season loss for the second day in a row after topping Louisville on Friday, March 7. This outcome came despite committing 21 turnovers. Okananwa didn’t miss a shot, going 3-for-3 with two 3-pointers and 6-for-6 on free throws.
Key Moment
Duke scored the last six points of the third quarter to take a 47-42 lead as the Irish didn’t score for three-plus minutes. The first points of the fourth quarter came on Okananwa’s 3-pointer.
Key Stat
Notre Dame made only 3-of-15 attempts on 3-pointers.
Up Next
Notre Dame awaits the NCAA Tournament selections as a probable first- and second-round host.
Of Note
Duke improved to 53-38 all-time in the ACC Tournament, including a 43-15 mark in Greensboro. The Blue Devils have won at least one game in 27 of their last 30 ACC Tournament appearances.
Notre Dame slipped to 22-6 all-time in the ACC Tournament and 19-6 in tourney games played at First Horizon Coliseum.
It marked the 27th opponent this season the Blue Devils have held below their respective scoring average. The Fighting Irish entered the matchup putting up 85.2 points per game.
Duke will seek its ninth ACC Women’s Tournament championship on Sunday and its first since 2013. All of Duke’s ACC tourney titles have come since 2000 and all have been at First Horizon Coliseum.