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Notre Dame Women’s Basketball: Irish Win ACC Tournament!

By Jordan Small

COLUMBUS, OH - MARCH 30: Jessica Shepard #23 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish reacts against the Connecticut Huskies during the first half in the semifinals of the 2018 NCAA Women's Final Four at Nationwide Arena on March 30, 2018 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - MARCH 30: Jessica Shepard #23 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish reacts against the Connecticut Huskies during the first half in the semifinals of the 2018 NCAA Women's Final Four at Nationwide Arena on March 30, 2018 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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For the fifth time in six years, the Notre Dame women’s basketball team are on top of the ACC. The Irish took home the crown after beating Louisville 99-79.

In the second matchup of the season between Louisville and Notre Dame, the Irish took it to a depleted Cardinals lineup. It was all Irish in this game and in the second half, the Irish really pulled away. They would use a 20 point victory to take down their conference rival to take home the ACC Tournament title. Jessica Shepard led all scorers with 30 points. Jackie Young and Brianna Turner came up big as well, adding 21 and 20 points respectively.

What a day for the bigs

Jessica Shepard, Brianna Turner, and Jackie Young put in incredible games to help the Irish win the championship on Sunday. Between the three of them, they were able to put up 71 points combined on the day. Once again, Shepard and Young were able to record double-doubles, something they have been doing very consistently as of late. If they can keep that going into the NCAA Tournament, they will make life tough for defenses.

One big thing that stood out on the stat sheet was the ability to score in the paint. Overall, the Irish scored 72 of their 99 points in the paint. That was a big key in the ACC Tournament for the Irish. Of those 72 points, 58 of those came from layups, something Louisville head coach Jeff Walz had mentioned to the broadcast team during the game.

Big win means short commute

Coming into the ACC Tournament, many believed that the Irish were going to head out to Portland for their regional. Despite beating Louisville earlier in the season and being the number one seed in the ACC Tournament, the Irish still had one more loss than the Cardinals. So it was very important to put on a good show in the championship game in order to help with their seeding. There was still the chance that they would head to Portland, even if they won. But after blowing out Louisville in the title game, the Irish are all but assured that they will be staying close to home and playing in Chicago for their regional.

Next Up

Now the Irish will sit back and wait a week. On Selection Monday, March 18, Notre Dame will find out exactly who they will face off against and what region they will head to. Until then, let the ACC Championship sink in.