Sunday March 8, 2015
Courtesy of TheACC.com
LINK: NOTRE DAME REPEATS AS ACC CHAMPIONS
Jewell Loyd named Most Valuable Player
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Jewell Loyd scored 18 points and No. 2 Notre Dame earned its second straight Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championship, beating No. 7 Florida State 71-58 in the title game on Sunday.
Taya Reimer added 16 points for the top-seeded Fighting Irish (31-2), who shot 52 percent and led by 22 points while claiming their 17th straight win and third consecutive conference tournament title.
Notre Dame won the Big East tournament in 2013 — its final season in that league — and improved to 6-0 in ACC tournament games.
Maegan Conwright had 14 points for the second-seeded Seminoles (29-4), who had their seven-game winning streak snapped and came up empty in their first appearance in the ACC championship game.
They shot 37 percent but missed 15 of 17 shots during the stretch when the game began to slip away.
The Seminoles tried to make things interesting late, closing to 69-56 on Ivey Slaughter’s free throw with 3:24 left before they came up empty on four of their next five possessions.
For Florida State, the second half was an uphill climb against a Notre Dame team that methodically stretched its lead into the 20s.
Madison Cable put the Irish up by 20 for the first time with a corner 3 one possession before Loyd’s slick layup gave them their largest lead, 67-45, with just under 8 minutes left.
Cable finished with 13 points and ACC freshman of the year Brianna Turner added 10 for Notre Dame, which was playing in a conference final for the fifth straight year.
The Fighting Irish earned their first measure of separation late in the first half by holding the Seminoles to two field goals in almost 13 minutes.
Notre Dame used runs of 14-2 and 14-6 to build a comfortable lead and both bursts were capped by Loyd: The ACC player of the year’s jumper with 17½ minutes to play made it 46-28.
Leticia Romero had 13 points and Adut Bulgak finished with 10 for Florida State.
TIP-INS:
Florida State: Bulgak was the only Seminole to make a field goal during the final 13½ minutes of the first half.
Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish claimed their eighth tournament title in their third league. In addition to their recent 3-year run, they won what’s now known as the Horizon League five times.
UP NEXT:
Florida State: Awaits at-large berth into NCAA Tournament.
Notre Dame: NCAA Tournament.
All Tournament Team
Most Valuable Player
Jewell Loyd – Notre Dame
First Team
Dearica Hamby – Wake Forest
Elizabeth Williams – Duke
Shakayla Thomas – Florida State
Brianna Turner – Notre Dame
Jewell Loyd – Notre Dame
Second Team
Vanessa Panousis – Virginia Tech
Stephanie Mavunga – North Carolina
Leticia Romero – Florida State
Madison Cable – Notre Dame
Taya Reimer – Notre Dame
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