By: Joe Dillard Jr.

All Photo Credit: Arturo Jones-LMS Network

Day 3

Game 8

In game 8 of this early Friday morning where kids from the local Greensboro area attended the game and made this first game of #4 Notre Dame against #5 Louisville full of energy and the Lady Fighting Irish came out with their two stars ACC Freshmen of the Year Hannah Hidalgo and seasoned experienced 2-way player Sonia Citron. What’s more impressive is the defense of pressure Notre Dame has applied to the Cardinals. Louisville shot 6 for 29 in the first half and would consider the 34-17 deficit manageable considering the shooting. Sonia and Hanah each had 10 points at the half. Hannah, who was very aggressive, went 8 for 8 from the line, and for a 5’6 freshman, she is not afraid to take the ball to the hole and plays complete basketball with 4 assists and 3 rebounds. Nina Rickards, who is showing a lot of fight has 4 offensive rebounds giving extra possessions to the Lady Cardinals. In the second half, both teams would supply a lot of firepower as Louisville’s Jada Curry heated up to keep Louisville within striking distance. With 5 minutes left to play, Louisville only trailed by 6 as Jada Curry continued to pour in buckets. Unfortunately, when you face the freshmen of the year that’s like a challenge to Hannah. With 43.7 left to play Louisville had a chance to pull off the upset only down 4, however after a turnover by Louisville coach Jeff Walz was ejected after arguing a non-call and that pretty much sealed it as Notre Dame advanced 77-68. Niele Ivey has done an outstanding job thus far this season as she has dealt with multiple injuries and just continued to get better with every game. This is why the conference is so deep and they managed to still become a four-seed with 9 teams looking like they belong. Despite Jada’s 26-point effort, Notre Dame was led by Hannah Hidalgo 21 points 6 rebounds, and 6 assists along with Sonia Citron scoring 26 points as the Lady Fighting Irish will be the first team to punch their ticket to the semi-final round and will face the winner of the #1 Virginia Tech and #9 Miami game on Saturday at Noon.

Game 9

After an electric crowd in the first game, the top-seed Virginia Tech Hokies squared off against the Miami Hurricanes who came off an impressive double-digit comeback against North Carolina. The crowd is heavy with Virginia Tech fans like the UNC versus Miami game. Also, add that 3-time ACC player of the year Elizabeth Kitley is out for the Hokies and now you have a competitive game all the way leading into the fourth quarter. The Hokies put on a team effort sharing the ball and defending holding Miami to 1 of 14 shooting from the arc, which seemed to be the difference in the matchup. Georgia Amoore led the Hokies in the second half with 25 points and willed them to a victory against a tough Miami team 55-47. Freshmen Clara Strack had some big shoes to fill and did an outstanding job with 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Virginia Tech will take on #4 Notre Dame in the semi-final Saturday at Noon.

Game 10

2 N.C. State takes on #7 Duke in an in-state battle where the crowd is filled with red and you would think Duke was not in the state, well one thing for certain Coach Lawson brought her team and after the first half of a slugfest, the Lady Wolfpack had a two-point lead 29-27. Duke is struggling from the field shooting 12-34 and the fact that they have six more shots might be how they still are in the game. Along with those steals and rebounding both teams went into the half with hopes of punching their ticket to the semi-final. Louisville continues to look the part being able to break defenders down and create for one another. An impressive display of competition which is why again this conference is 9 teams deep going into the tournament. Aziaha James and Zoe Brooks have been breaking the Duke defense down and just haven’t converted enough opportunities to pull away. With 1:10 left and a one-possession game 52-49, N.C. State looked to hold on to that lead and did just that although Duke had a chance to tie it the Wolfpack survived and advanced into the semi-finals against the winner of the nightcap in Florida State and Syracuse on Saturday at 2:30 pm.

Game 11

In the nightcap, we have #3 Syracuse taking on #6 Florida State, and one thing about Syracuse is they are a legit team coming in 23-6 and all 6 losses coming to tournament teams. Well, Florida State is another tournament team and they jumped on the Cuse and never looked back dominating all phases of the game. Sophomore Ta’Niya Latson is a true problem averaging 21.3 in both her freshmen and sophomore runs had 25 and Junior O’Mariah Gordon had 24 points and it looks like Florida State has found its stride. The dominance of Malayla Timpson continues as she gathers another double-double with 10 points and 17 rebounds. Florida State has won back-to-back double-digit wins in the tournament and if you need momentum then that’s got to be a great feeling going into the semi. Quiet is kept Florida State may have 2 first-team all-tournament performers as they look to advance to the title game. They lost to North Carolina State in overtime 88-80 and this will be a great semi-final matchup. They tip off Saturday at 2:30 pm for a chance at championship hardware.