SOUTH BEND, Ind. – It’s seemingly one step forward and two steps back for No. 16 Notre Dame (10-3, 1-2), who fell to North Carolina (11-4, 3-0) on Sunday evening, 61-57. The Irish got All-American Sonia Citron back from injury after seven weeks, but forward and leading rebounder Maddy Westbeld had to sit because of a concussion.
The Irish had 14 turnovers, just 10 assists, and were outrebounded for the third consecutive game (47-41). They had their worst shooting night this season (31 percent).
“I think the last two games that we’ve lost have been because of a mental lapse,” Karen and Kevin Keyes Family Head Coach Niele Ivey said after the game. “Offensively, we’re turning the ball over. Defensively, we’re missing assignments and rebounds.”
It was a first quarter of runs. UNC came out hot with 6 straight points before Notre Dame countered with 8. From there, the Tar Heels notched 14 straight, the second-longest run the Irish have allowed this year. A Sonia Citron trey paired with a Hidalgo free throw closed the gap to 8 heading into the second quarter.
Both squads struggled to score in the first two minutes of the second, and while UNC may have scored the first bucket of the quarter, the Irish would go on a 9-0 run to bring it within one at 22-21 at 4:33.
At the half, it was 31-28 in favor of the visitors. Free throws played a major role in the score; Notre Dame went 9-11, while UNC went 0-4. Outside of that, Notre Dame’s offense was borderline stagnant (29 percent from the floor). Hidalgo was the sole player in double figures with 10, and Citron led all players with 6 boards. Notre Dame had been outrebounded in both ACC games thus far but took a 23-20 advantage into the locker room in that category.
Notre Dame took the lead out of the locker room with another Citron trey. Hidalgo followed it with a pair of coast-to-coast buckets. The Irish ultimately stretched the lead to as much as 7 with just over 2 minutes to go in Q3. A few fouls and missed baskets later, UNC was already back within a point heading into the fourth.
That run was ultimately a 15-point one, tied for the largest the Irish have allowed this year. Notre Dame went completely silent, failing to score for around 7 minutes. The Irish were just 4-18 from the floor in Q4 and missed a trio of free throws as well. UNC walked away with the victory to remain undefeated in conference play.
A silver lining is certainly Citron’s return. She led all scorers with 18 points and also notched 7 rebounds. She played more than 37 minutes.
“It’s great to be back,” Citron said. “Honestly, the 37 minutes didn’t feel too bad outside of the fact that I was cramping at the end of the game…Everything else was pretty solid. The past seven weeks have been pretty tough, but I’m proud of myself for putting in the work to get back in this position.”
Including Sunday, Citron is averaging 19.8 points per game and shooting 42.1 percent from behind the arc.
The Irish are back in action on Thursday against Boston College (9-7, 1-2).