Clemson Advance After Notre Dame Upset

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Clemson had gone 32 days since their last win, but the 11th-seeded Tigers obviously didn’t enter this year’s Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament with plans to simply go through the motions.

Kendall Spray banked in a 3-point shot from the right wing as the shot clock wound down to give the Tigers a four-point lead with 17.6 seconds remaining, and Amari Robinson added a pair of free throws as the Tigers rallied from a 10-point third-quarter deficit to upend sixth-seeded Notre Dame (10-10), 68-63, in the final game of Thursday’s second-round session.

Clemson (11-12) moved on to Friday night’s 8:30 p.m. quarterfinal game versus third-seeded Georgia Tech (14-7). The Yellow Jackets defeated the Tigers twice during the regular season, most recently a 71-69 decision on Feb. 4 that was the first loss in what became a six-game Clemson losing streak entering the ACC Tournament.

Freshman Gabby Elliott scored a career-high 25 points led Clemson, including a layup with 1:27 remaining in the game that put the Tigers up 61-60.

Elliott missed a foul shot that could have completed a three-point play, but the Tigers held defensively and regained possession still up one point with 47 seconds left.

Clemson milked the game clock until the ball wound up in Spray’s hands as the shot clock reached two seconds. Though blanketed by Notre Dame defender Dara Mabrey, Spray got her shot up, off the glass, and into the bucket to put Clemson in front 64-60.

Still, it wasn’t over. A three-point play by Notre Dame freshman Maddy Westbeld – who finished with 21 points on 10-of-11 shooting from the floor – put the Irish within 64-63 with 11.3 seconds still remaining.

But the Tigers refused to wilt. Robinson connected on two free throws to make it 66-63. Then, following a missed 3-pointer by Mabrey, Spray iced the game with two more foul shots for the final five-point Clemson victory margin.

Spray finished the night with 13 points for the Tigers, while Delicia Washington scored 11 and handed out a team-high seven assists.

Mabrey and Olivia Miles had 10 points each for Notre Dame while Miles’s eight assists led all players.