Last Updated 4 weeks by Amnon J. Jobi | Amnon Front Page
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Hannah Hidalgo scored 19 points and No. 1 Notre Dame used a strong second half to beat No. 11 Duke 64-59 on Monday.
Notre Dame (23-2, 14-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), which moved up to No. 1 for the first time in more than six years earlier in the day, won its 18th game in a row and 17th consecutive conference matchup.
Sonia Citron scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Fighting Irish. Maddy Westbeld scored 11 points.
Taina Mair scored 15 points to lead Duke (20-6, 11-3).
After leading only 29-27 at halftime, Notre Dame turned up the defensive pressure at the start of the third quarter to key a 17-1 run. The Irish harassed Duke into 0-of-6 shooting and four turnovers during the run. Notre Dame outscored Duke 21-8 in the third quarter for a 50-35 lead.
Both teams struggled in the second quarter, but Notre Dame surged ahead in the final two minutes for the two-point halftime lead. Westbeld hit a deep 3-pointer to beat the shot clock and start a 5-0 run. The two teams combined for 7-for-26 shooting (27 percent) and 11 turnovers in the second quarter.
Takeaways
Duke: The Blue Devils’ reserves outscored their Notre Dame counterparts 18-9.
Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish forced 11 turnovers in the second half and limited Duke to 22 points in the half.
Key moment
Westbeld blocked a shot by Duke’s Reigan Richardson and grabbed the rebound, launching a pass to Hidalgo, who caught it near half court. Hidalgo then passed to Sonia Citron, who drove in for the fastbreak hoop to give Notre Dame a 35-27 lead.
Key stat
After hitting five of its first six shots, Duke was only 15 for 47 for 32% the rest of the game.
Up next
Duke hosts Louisville on Thursday, and Notre Dame plays at Miami.