No. 2 Notre Dame Tops No. 7 Florida State, Wins Second Straight ACC Title

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have made themselves right at home in the ACC. After clinching their second straight regular season title, the No. 2 Irish made it two-straight in tournament titles as well with a 71-58 win over the No. 7 Florida State Seminoles. Jewell Loyd scored 18, and claimed tournament MVP for her efforts.

The Irish (31-2) outrebounded the Seminoles–the first team to do that all season. Loyd was every bit the Player of the Year candidate, with key buckets in the second half to the help the Irish create a cushion. Taya Reimer (16 points/8 rebounds) and Brianna Turner (10 points/8 rebounds) went right at the Florida State frontcourt, something they haven’t been used to all season.

Florida State (29-4) got 14 from Maegan Conwright, as well as 13 from Leticia Romero. Adut Bulgak–last years junior college Player of the Year– added 10 points and seven rebounds in the losing effort.

The Seminoles roster consists of six transfers, five D-1 and Bulgak. even with the depth Florida State has, it appeared the schedule of three games in three days began to wear on them in the second half.

For Notre Dame, it was their eighth conference title, and in their third different league. Two in the ACC, one in the Big East, and five in what’s now known as the Horizon League.

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Notre Dame is fully expected to get a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the only question is in which bracket. The Irish don’t fit well regionally into any of the brackets. So that “drama” will have to do as the Fighting Irish await the word of where they’ll play. Regardless, the Irish will host the first two rounds.

We’ll have more analysis on the Notre Dame Women’s team and their quest for a fifth straight Final Four appearance in the coming week.