Notre Dame dismantles No. 11 Duke in first game as nation’s No. 1 team

Notre Dame went into Monday’s game against Duke ranked as the nation’s No. 1 team for the first time this season.

It looked very much the part while dismantling one of the nation’s better teams. The Fighting Irish cruised to a 64-49 win at home against the No. 11 Blue Devils to open their reign as the nation’s top team in convincing fashion.

Duke put up a fight through the first half as Taina Mair’s 11 points helped keep the Blue Devils within a single possession as Notre Dame took a 29-27 lead into the break. But the tone of the game shifted dramatically after halftime.

Notre Dame opened the second half with a 17-1 run to seize control of the game. Duke didn’t score its first field goal of the half until Jadyn Donovan secured a layup with 4:04 remaining in the third quarter. By then, it was too late. The bucket cut Notre Dame’s lead to 46-31, and the Fighting Irish never let the Blue Devils back into the game.

Hannah Hidalgo led the Notre Dame effort with 19 points, four assists and three steals. Sonia Citron added 15 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Notre Dame controlled the glass with a 41-28 rebounding advantage that included 15 offensive boards. The Irish limited the Blue Devils to a 1-of-9 (11.1%) effort from 3-point distance while shooting 6 of 18 (33.3%) from beyond the arc themselves.

It added up to a dominant effort by Notre Dame to secure its 18th consecutive win. The Irish lost back-to-back games to TCU and Utah on Nov. 29 and Nov. 30 and haven’t lost since. Their résumé now includes wins over then-No. 2 UConn, No. 3 USC, No. 4 Texas, No. 17 North Carolina, No. 17 Georgia Tech, No. 21 Cal and now No. 11 Duke.

Notre Dame move to No. 1 in the AP poll on Monday following previously undefeated UCLA’s loss to rival USC last Thursday. It wasn’t a unanimous selection (16 votes) as No. 2 Texas (8) and No. 3 UCLA (6) also received first-place votes. But the Irish made a strong case on Monday that they belonged at the top as they now eye securing the No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

That will likely take some more work from the Irish, who were ranked No. 4 behind No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 South Carolina and No. 3 Texas in the NCAA’s first early bracket reveal on Sunday.