March 7, 2026; Duluth, Georgia, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Reagan Bender (21), guard Imari Berry (2), and forward Laura Ziegler (0) celebrate their victory against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Gas South Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images Taina Mair scored 16 points and 13th-ranked Duke won 65-63 against Notre Dame in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament on Saturday in Duluth, Georgia.
The Blue Devils, who got 14 points from Toby Fournier, 10 from Riley Nelson and nine points and 10 rebounds from Delaney Thomas, needed a defensive stop late in the game to hang on after falling behind 49-46 heading into the fourth quarter. Top-seeded Duke (23-8), hoping to earn a repeat bid to the tournament, will face No. 2 seed Louisville in the championship game Sunday afternoon.
Hannah Hidalgo poured in 24 points and Ianna Moore had 14 for fifth-seeded Notre Dame (22-10), which is looking for its third straight win. The Irish overcame a 13-point deficit to advance to the fourth quarter.
After Hidalgo’s 3-pointer with 1:10 left put Notre Dame within 64-63, the Irish did not score again. Nelson’s free throw at 52 seconds was the final score before three missed shots in the final 12 seconds, including Moore’s shot at the buzzer.
No. 12 Louisville 65, No. 16 North Carolina 57
Imari Berry scored 22 points, and the second-seeded Cardinals held the Tar Heels in check throughout the second half and advanced to the title game.
Laura Ziegler added 13 points for Louisville (27-6), which meets top seed Duke in Sunday’s final. Berry hit four 3-pointers as part of 9-of-14 shooting from the field. She also had a game-high 10 rebounds.
Elina Aarnisalo’s 17 points led the third-seeded Tar Heels (26-7), who suffered just their second loss in 15 games. Nyla Brooks had 13 points off the bench, Lanie Grant had 11 and Indya Nivar added 10, but North Carolina finished with its fourth-lowest point total of the season.
Louisville led 28-27 at halftime. Berry scored six straight Cardinals points to extend the lead to 58-48 with 2:17 left.
–Field level media
