GREENSBORO, N.C. — Cal gave sixth-ranked Notre Dame all it could handle before falling 73-64 in the quarterfinals of the ACC women’s basketball tournament on Friday. But the Golden Bears’ season is far from over.
The Bears (25-8) will have to wait a week before the Sunday, March 16 NCAA Tournament selection show, but Cal’s name will be called. It’ll be the Bears’ first appearance in the Big Dance since 2019 and the first under coach Charmin Smith.
ESPN’s Charlie Creme projects the Bears to be a No. 8 seed in the NCAAs. Despite the loss to the Irish, 26-4 and the tournament’s defending champion, Cal did little if anything to hurt its tournament resume.
Cal opened its first ACC tournament by beating Virginia in Thursday’s second round, then nearly avenged a 91-52 loss at South Bend last month. A win against Notre Dame would have been Cal’s highest-ranked win since beating then-No. 5 Stanford on Jan. 13, 2013. It also would have given the Bears wins over three ranked teams in a season for the first time since 2019-20.
Despite committing 27 turnovers, 19 in the first half, the Bears kept the rematch close until the final minutes.
Cal, the No. 7 seed in the ACC tournament, led second-seeded Notre Dame 47-41 midway through the third quarter on the strength of a 14-3 run. But that lead vanished and the game turned when the Irish answered with a 12-0 run of their own.
Lulu Twidale led Cal with 16 points, going 4-for-7 from 3-point range. Marta Suarez and Kayla Williams each scored 14 points, and Michelle Onyiah added 13 points.
ACC player of the year Hannah Hidalgo led Notre Dame with 25 points.
The Fighting Irish advanced to Saturday’s semifinals to play the Louisville-Duke winner.
Check back for more on this developing story.
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