WOMENS BASKETBALL

North Carolina State 59, Notre Dame 43

CURT RALLO
ASSOCIATED PRESS

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Madison Hayes scored 16 points and a relentless defensive effort by No. 6 North Carolina State powered the Wolfpack to a 59-43 victory over No. 16 Notre Dame.

The Wolfpack held Notre Dame to a season-low point total, and also held the No. 3 scorer in the nation, Hannah Hidalgo, to a career-low 10 points on 4-for-19 shooting.

Notre Dame’s previous low this season was 57 points in a 61-57 loss to North Carolina on Jan. 7. It was the fewest points scored by the Fighting Irish since a 64-38 loss to Louisville in last season’s ACC Tournament.

River Baldwin had 14 points and 10 rebounds while Saniya Rivers contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds for N.C. State.

Maddy Westbeld scored 14 points to lead Notre Dame and Sonia Citron scored 13.

The Wolfpack (22-3, 9-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) are one game behind league-leading Virginia Tech in the conference standings.

N.C. State bolted to a 16-2 lead on the way to a 19-7 advantage at the end of the first quarter. The Wolfpack harassed the Fighting Irish (18-6, 8-5) into missing nine of their first 10 shots and committing seven early turnovers.

Notre Dame’s 5-6 freshman standout Hidalgo, who set an ACC record by being named the league’s Rookie of the Week for the 11th time, was scoreless in the first half, the first time in her collegiate career she was held without a point in a half.

Hidalgo entered the game leading the ACC in scoring with a 25.1 points per game average but was 0-of-9 shooting in the first half and didn’t score until the 7:17 mark of the third quarter.

BIG PICTURE

North Carolina State: The Wolfpack won their fourth consecutive road game as they look to lock down a double-bye in the ACC tournament.

Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish continued to improve in rebounding. The Irish outrebounded Notre Carolina State 47-40 and had a 13-7 edge in second-chance points.

North Carolina State athletics press release

February 15, 2024