RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Diamond Johnson scored 20 points and No. 20 North Carolina State held on despite blowing most of a 16-point lead to beat No. 7 Notre Dame 69-65 on Sunday.
Mimi Collins added 13 points for the Wolfpack (16-5, 6-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who earned a tough win against one of the league leaders in front of a loud, sellout crowd. N.C. State's defense frustrated Notre Dame for a long stretch during the second and third quarters to build the big lead, then Johnson and the Wolfpack kept coming up with needed plays as the Fighting Irish (17-3, 8-2) made a fourth-quarter push.
After trailing 50-34, Notre Dame pulled to within 62-59 on back-to-back 3-pointers from Cassandre Prosper — both coming off feeds from Olivia Miles and from right in front of her own bench — midway through the fourth. Sonia Citron followed a few minutes later with a driving score past Madison Hayes, pulling the Irish to within 65-63 with 2:32 left.
But Johnson had the immediate answer, getting a step inside her defender and calmly knocking down a jumper near the right elbow. She followed with a pair of free throws that pushed the lead back to six, enough of a margin for the Wolfpack to close this one outl.
Maddy Westbeld had 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead Notre Dame, which shot just 38% and made 6 of 23 3-pointers (26%).
The Irish entered Sunday tied with No. 16 Duke atop the ACC standings, though the Blue Devils lost at Florida State after tipoff in Raleigh — which gave Notre Dame a chance to claim sole possession of the league lead.
BIG PICTURE
Notre Dame: Things haven't been easy in the past week for coach Niele Ivey, who lost graduate guard Dara Mabrey to a season-ending knee injury last weekend. This was only Notre Dame's second time adjusting to playing without that starter, and Notre Dame was also down Lauren Ebo for this one. She sat on the bench with a protective boot on her right foot.
N.C. State: Wes Moore's team had split its last six games, a stretch that began with a home loss to Boston College in a performance that had Moore flustered by his team's lack of intensity. The Wolfpack showed some of that with a strong defensive stretch that saw Notre Dame manage nine turnovers and four baskets over a roughly 15-minute stretch to build the big lead. Johnson helped close this one out, with N.C. State finishing the game at 45% shooting and 7 for 17 from behind the arc.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame: At Boston College on Thursday.
N.C. State: At Georgia Tech on Thursday.
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Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap
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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
