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It was Sonia Citron and Hannah Hidalgo down the stretch. Who else?
On Sunday, No. 12 Notre Dame (18-5, 8-4) topped Florida State (17-8, 8-5) in just the sixth double overtime game in Irish program history, 98-94. Forty-five minutes was not enough; it took a 10-6 score in the second overtime to give the Irish a much-needed road victory. Citron and Hidalgo were the final difference in the game, going 4-4 from the foul line to ice it.
Three players played more than 40 minutes: Maddy Westbeld (47:10), Hidalgo (44:11) and Anna DeWolfe (40:42). Those were career-highs for Westbeld and Hidalgo.
“I wasn’t really thinking about it,” DeWolfe said after the game. “There were times where you would have to slow down and catch your breath, but I think the adrenaline of the game and the crowd distract you from it. We were just focused on the task at hand.”
In total, four players had at least 18 points: Hidalgo (27), DeWolfe (24), Westbeld (19) and Citron (18). DeWolfe’s 24 were a high in an Irish uniform, as were the six 3-pointers she knocked down. Westbeld notched 14 rebounds and tied a career high with 4 steals. In doing so, she locked down her ninth double-double of the year. She entered this season with nine double-doubles in her career.
The game was the track meet to be expected when the ACC’s top offenses square off. Florida State jumped out to a 9-2 lead, all 9 points scored by reigning ACC Rookie of the Year Ta’Niya Latson. She hit a pair of 3s, and Sara Bejedi added one of her own for a 3-3 start from deep for the home team.
Notre Dame called a timeout, and Citron and DeWolfe hit back-to-back treys. The Irish defense forced three consecutive turnovers, and Notre Dame took its first lead on a DeWolfe 3 with 2:03. She had 10 points in the first quarter after only hitting double-figures once since Jan. 14. Notre Dame led 21-20 after a quarter.
The start of Q2 swung back in favor of Florida State to start - they went on a 9-0 run - before the Irish started heating up once again. It was 48-42 through 20. The Irish shot 41.2 percent in Q2 with three made 3s, while the Seminoles shot 68.8 percent. A total of 11 3-pointers were made by the teams. Latson had 21 points in the first half, while three Irish were in double-figures: DeWolfe (13), Hidalgo (12) and Westbeld (10).
The Irish defense had its best quarter of the game coming out of the break, holding a Florida State offense that scored 28 points in Q2 to 6 in Q3. Notre Dame couldn’t get its offense going, however, scoring 17. Notre Dame trailed 64-59 heading into the final frame. FSU forward Makayla Timpson had picked up her third foul in the second quarter, but didn’t have another in Q3.
Notre Dame opened the final quarter on a 7-0 run. DeWolfe tied it up at 64 with her fourth trey of the game, and a follow-up Westbeld steal allowed Hidalgo to get the ball back to DeWolfe for an easy layup. Advantage Notre Dame, 66-64. Timeout Florida State.
From there, neither team could miss. Tied for the seventh time at 77-all after a Westbeld jumper, the Seminoles would respond with a layup of their own to regain the advantage 79-77.
With 1:52 remaining in regulation, Citron knocked down a jumpshot to make it an even 79-79. Both squads had opportunities to score and reclaim the lead, but the Irish would take the final shot of the fourth. The Hidalgo jumper was too strong off the glass, and the game headed to overtime.
In the 5-minute overtime period, the Seminoles put up a 4-0 run in the first two minutes to take the lead 83-79 with 3:09 left. With ease, Hidalgo was able to get to the rim for back-to-back layups and tie it up yet again at 83-83.
Another Florida State layup followed by a pair of Hidalgo free throws, would make it an 85-all ballgame. And as a Seminole trey put Florida State in front 88-85, Dewolfe continued to have the hot hand as she drained her sixth three of the game, shooting an impressive 6-9 from three on the day. For the first time since 2013, the Irish would be heading into a double-overtime situation.
Similar to the first OT period, the Seminoles struck first to take the lead 90-88, but both squads would swap buckets to tie it at 94-94 with 52 seconds remaining.
The Seminoles took their final shot of the game with eight seconds left and a Hidalgo rebound secured the possession for the Irish as Florida State was in a must foul situation. The Irish would go on to close out the period going 4-4 from the charity stripe to secure the 98-94 win. Kylee Watson had a crucial steal with 4 seconds to go.
Hidalgo finished the game with 5 steals to give her 118 on the season. That is now the program’s single-season record, a mark which was previously 114 and held by Skylar Diggins.