SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Kianna Smith and Hailey Van Lith each scored 20 points and No. 4 Louisville raced to a huge lead and routed No. 14 Notre Dame 86-64 on Sunday.
The Cardinals (25-3, 16-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) led 41-3 early in the second quarter. They beat the Irish (21-7, 13-5) for the sixth straight time in the conference regular-season closer for both teams.
Louisville was up 48-6 when Notre Dame made consecutive baskets, the second by Olivia Miles at 2:49 before halftime after her steal.
Emily Engstler had 17 points and Chelsie Hall added 13 for the Cardinals, who would tie for the ACC title if No. 3 North Carolina State loses later in the day to No. 23 Virginia Tech.
Regardless of the outcome, Louisville will be the No. 2 seed in the ACC postseason tourney and has a double bye to Friday's quarterfinals.
Olivia Miles had 13 points, Maya Dodson and Dara Mabrey scored 12 each and Sonia Citron 10 for Notre Dame, which also has a double bye to the ACC tourney quarterfinals.
The Cardinals jumped to a 31-3 lead after the first quarter. Ivey tried to stop the Louisville momentum with timeouts and substitutions, but nothing worked.
Louisville made its first seven shots in the opening 4:38 in taking an 18-1 lead. Notre Dame hit just one of 13 shots as former four-time Irish All-American Skylar Diggins-Smith watched from the sidelines.
The Cardinals scored the first 10 points of the second quarter and led 54-15 at halftime. Louisville hit 23 of 34 shots (68%), including 8 of 12 (67%) on 3-pointers before the break.
BIG PICTURE
Louisville: The Cardinals were on their game from the start, particularly from beyond the 3-point line. They hit their first seven 3-pointers during the first quarter and didn't miss from long distance until early in the second quarter.
Notre Dame: The Irish were hoping to put behind them the bad vibes remaining from the Cardinals' 73-47 victory two Sundays ago in Louisville. But they got off to a bad start from the field -- at one point the Irish had one basket in 18 attempts (5.6%). Louisville's fast start made it a long afternoon at the Purcell Pavilion where Notre Dame was 13-0 prior to the rout.
UP NEXT
Louisville: Cardinals have earned double bye as No. 2 seed for ACC Tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina, and play quarterfinal game Friday at 6 p.m.
Notre Dame: Fighting Irish have earned double bye in ACC Tournament and play quarterfinal game Friday at either 11 a.m. or 8 p.m.
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