Cal Women Hang Tough, but Lose to Sixth-Ranked Notre Dame

Originally posted on Cal Bears on SI | By Jake Curtis | Last updated Mar 7, 2025 7:24 PM ET

Cal gave sixth-ranked Notre Dame a scare but the Irish dominated play down the stretch to post a 73-64 victory over the Bears on Friday in the quarterfinals of the women’s ACC tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Ultimately, turnovers doomed the Bears (25-8), who were very much in the game until the final five minutes. Cal committed 27 turnovers, including 19 in the first half.

Somehow Cal stayed close despite those mistakes.

No. 7 seed Cal held a six-point lead at 45-39 with 5:08 remaining in the third quarter, but the Irish then went on a 12-0 to take control.

The Bears still trailed by just three points with 7:42 remaining in the fourth quarter, but Notre Dame (26-4) dominated the closing minutes.

Lulu Twidale was 4-for-7 on three-pointers and finished with 16 points for Cal. Kayla Williams and Marta Suarez added 14 points apiece, and Michelle Onyiah scored 13 points.

However, ACC player of the year Hannah Hidalgo scored 25 points for the Irish, and her fast-break bucket off a Cal turnover gave Notre Dame a 71-59 lead with 2:39 left, clinching the victory.

Despite the loss Cal will play in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2019 and is expected to be seeded No. 8 or thereabouts.

The Irish are projected to receive a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament are still in contention for a No. 1 seed.

Cal defeated two ranked teams during the regular season, knocking off Alabama on December 5 when the Tide was No. 19, and defeating North Carolina State on January 9 when the Wolfpack was No. 21.

If Cal had defeated Notre Dame, the Irish would have been Cal’s highest-ranked victim since the Bears beat then-No. 5 Stanford on Jan. 13, 2013.

But they could not handle Notre Dame, which had defeated Cal by 39 points when the teams met on February 9 in South Bend, Indiana.

Somehow Cal trailed by only three points at halftime even though the Bears committed 19 turnovers in the first 20 minutes. It was the most turnovers Cal has had in a half this season.

Cal shot 50% from the floor and made 5-of-11 three-point shots, but the Irish had 12 more field-goal attempts in the first half thanks to all those Cal turnovers.

Kayla Williams made three shots from long distance in the first half, when she had 11 points, and her basket with 1:10 remaining in the second quarter tied the score 28-28.

A bucket by Notre Dame’s Maddy Westbeld and an accompanying free throw with 35.7 seconds left set the halftime score at 31-28.

Cal led 10-8 midway through the first quarter, but the Bears went scoreless for the final five minutes of that quarter, which ended with the Irish holding a 16-10 lead. The 10 points were the fewest Cal has scored in an opening quarter this season.

Cal, which committed 21 turnovers in the regular-season loss to Notre Dame, had 10 turnovers in the first quarter on Friday.