Forget March Madness for now.
The Notre Dame and NC State women’s basketball teams played an instant classic Sunday afternoon in a clash of Atlantic Coast Conference heavyweights.
The host and No. 13 Wolfpack outlasted the top-ranked Irish 104-95 in a double-overtime thriller which featured 21 ties and 21 lead changes in an electric Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Guard Zoe Brooks poured in a career-high 33 points, including 14 of 14 from the free throw line, as the Wolfpack prevailed. Aziaha James had 20 points and Tilda Trygger 19 as the Wolfpack won its 20th straight home game.
Hannah Hildago poured in 26 points, Sonia Citron 23 and Olivia Miles 22 to pace the Irish. Both Hildago and Miles fouled out late in the final overtime period. Liatu King added 16 points and 14 rebounds for the Irish.
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Notre Dame, which saw its 19-game winning streak snapped, was outscored 12-3 in the final five-minute overtime period as Brooks scored four points. The Irish, who boast seven ACC wins by 30 plus points, had not lost since dropping a 78-67 final to Utah on Nov. 30 in the Cayman Islands.
NC State (22-5, 14-2 ACC) lost to the Irish 55-51 in the ACC Tournament title game a year ago after beating them 59-43 in a regular-season clash. The Irish (24-3, 15-1) could have clinched the ACC regular season crown with a win.
The Irish, who moved into the No. 1 spot in both the AP Rankings and USA Today Coaches rankings last week, forced overtime when Citron drained an incredible 3-pointer from the right wing with 0.6 seconds to play in regulation.
The Irish were outscored 24-8 from the free throw line and shot just 7 of 27 from 3-point range. Notre Dame entered play Sunday leading the country in 3-point field goal percentage as a team at 41%.
“We have to get better, learn from it and move forward,” Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey said. “The lesson for us is wanting to be better defensively.
“It was a hard-fought game that did not go in our favor. Hats off to NC State. It was an incredible environment. They came out on fire and were fantastic.
“Brooks played well. She did a great job getting downhill. She got to the free throw line 14 times. That was more than we did as a team. Hat’s off to her.
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“I thought we had some fantastic performances. Hannah with 26 points, Liv with 22 and Liatu (King) with 16 and 14 rebounds. Sonia was fantastic for us. That 3-point shot she hit to tie it was one of the best shots I’ve seen in a long time.”
The Irish trailed 23-20 after the opening period and were behind for the first time all season at halftime by a 40-36 count. Citron, who had just two first-half points, popped in 10 points in the third period as her team took a 58-57 lead.
The Wolfpack, who had not beaten a No. 1 team at home since 1978, surged to an 80-77 lead on a pair of free throws by Brooks with 22.5 seconds to play in regulation. Brooks was 8 of 8 from the line in the fourth quarter. Miles then hit a driving shot to make it 80-79 before Brooks hit two more free throws with 17.3 seconds to play for an 82-79 lead. King hit a layup to cut the lead to 82-81 with 5.4 seconds left and then NC State’s Madison Hayes hit two more free throws to make it 84-81 with 4.5 ticks left. After an Irish timeout, Citron drained a triple to tie it at 84-84 and then James missed a trey at the final horn for overtime.
The first overtime, which was delayed by about eight minutes due to a medical issue in the stands, saw the Irish take a 92-90 lead on a Citron driving layup with 44 seconds to play. James then drained a jumper in the lane with 21.4 seconds left to tie it at 92-92. Ivey then took a timeout with 3.5 seconds to play. Miles misfired on a trey try and Maddy Westbeld grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled. After an official review, it was determined the foul came after time had expired.
The final extra session was all Wolfpack. The hosts scored the first 10 points of the second overtime, highlighted by James making a gorgeous lefthanded layup in transition after going behind her back with the basketball. Miles hit a trey with just 27.6 seconds to play for Notre Dame’s only points of the final overtime.
“Our focus today was on playing 40 minutes,” Ivey said. “We didn’t do a great job with our one-on-one defense. I also thought that our shot selection could have been a lot better at times today.
“But, this was great for the women’s game and great for the ACC to have a game like this.”
The Irish, who were ranked No. 1 for the first time since 2019, saw its longest winning streak since the 2015-16 campaign end. They were bidding to become the first women’s team to go undefeated in ACC regular-season play.
Notre Dame shot 40 of 97 from the field, including the 7-of-27 mark from distance and were 8 of 10 from the line. Hildago was 8 of 26 from the field, while Miles was 9 of 23, including 4 of 13 from distance. Miles entered play Sunday shooting 43% from 3-point land. The Irish were outrebounded 51-49 but had a 17-9 edge in offensive rebounds.
The Wolfpack, who improved to 15-0 at home this season, finished 36 of 79 from the field, including 8 of 21 from deep. They went 24 of 26 from the line and had 17 turnovers to 12 by the Irish. NC State entered play Sunday shooting just 66% from the line this season as a team.
NC State, which lost to South Carolina in the Final Four a season ago, is alone in second place in the ACC at 14-2. North Carolina, which beat the Wolfpack last week, is third at 13-3.
Notre Dame entered play Sunday allowing 58 points per game to ACC teams.
The Irish host Florida State (21-6, 11-4) at 8 p.m. Thursday and then entertain Louisville (19-8, 12-4) at noon March 2.
ESPN’s “College GameDay” show, which was at NC State on Sunday, will be in South Bend for the regular-season finale.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Notre Dame women’s basketball loses in double overtime to NC State
