The ACC/SEC challenge wrapped up with Notre Dame star Hannah Hidalgo getting ejected for taunting in the last 10 seconds of the Fighting Irish’s 69-62 loss against Ole Miss. The result gave the SEC a 13-3 victory, solidifying it as the most dangerous conference in the nation.
The top SEC teams, Texas and South Carolina, got the job done on Thursday, although the Gamecocks cut it close against Louisville. LSU also shined with a strong win over Duke. Kim Mulkey’s Tigers had scored 100+ points in all their other games this season, but a 93-77 victory is a still a perfectly good achievement.
While the ACC certainly has the potential to make some noise in March, so far the conference has underperformed this season. Here are some takeaways from the ACC/SEC challenge.
Loser: The ACC
This one is obvious. The SEC won 10 of the 16 games last season and dominated even more this year. Only Virginia Tech, SMU and Syracuse got wins for the ACC on Wednesday and Thursday. The women’s 13-3 result was significantly more lopsided than the men’s 9-7 SEC victory.
This is usually one of the top conferences in the nation, but its 2025-26 campaign has seen a lot of struggles. Notre Dame is in rebuilding mode and suffered a 39-point loss to Michigan on Nov. 15. The Fighting Irish did pull off a win against USC the following month, but their loss to Ole Miss on Thursday showed Niele Ivey’s team still has a lot of work to do.
Meanwhile, Duke entered the season with high expectations but Kara Lawson’s Blue Devils have struggled with their non-conference schedule and are currently under .500. Duke has dropped out of the AP Top 25, as has Wes Moore’s young NC State roster.
Winner: Ole Miss’s historic comeback
No. 13 Ole Miss was down by 19 points before pulling off the win on Thursday night, which tied the Rebels’ largest comeback win in program history. This was their first big test of the season, and one promising aspect is that they succeeded despite not playing what they considered a “good” game.
“This was our first ranked matchup and I feel like we proved what we needed to prove,” said senior Cotie McMahon in her broadcast interview. “Honestly, we didn’t even play good basketball. This is not good Ole Miss basketball. But even then, we still fought, and honestly, we were the tougher team to finish it out.”
Hannah Hidalgo had 18 points and four steals in the first half and it seemed the No. 18 Fighting Irish were on their way to a statement win. Notre Dame had a 19-point lead halfway through the second quarter, but Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin’s decision to go bigger and really focus on defense helped her team get back in the game.
McMahon finished the night with 22 points, while senior Christeen Iwuala put up 18 points and 13 rebounds. Their performances helped Ole Miss start the season 8-0 for the first time since the 2000 – 2001 season, and also for the first time in the McPhee-McCuin era.
Winner: The Losers
It’s unusual, but some teams that lost still made it into our winners’ list because we have to give credit where credit is due. Tennessee was Stanford’s first big test of the season and the Cardinal almost pulled off an upset before falling 65-62. The Lady Vols are a strong rebounding team, but the Cardinal won the battle on the boards 41-40. They were also shooting 46% from the field while holding Tennessee to 35%. Although Stanford committing 30 turnovers is hardly ideal, the fact that the game was so close despite that stat is impressive. This program is not quite at the level it was during the Tara VanDerveer era, but the way they fought against Tennessee shows the Cardinal are heading in the right direction.
Meanwhile, a shot by Tajianna Roberts with four seconds remaining in the game could have given No. 22 Louisville the upset over No. 3 South Carolina on Thursday, but the Cardinals ultimately lost 79-77. It was a great look that just didn’t work out, but Jeff Walz’ team played fearlessly and has a lot to be proud of.
“We just gotta be able to do it day in and day out,” Walz said. “It’s one game, it’s great. I thought we did play four good quarters, which is the first time we’ve done that, and now we’ll get a chance to get back to practice tomorrow…. It’s a matter of, ok can we now have the same performance on Sunday?”
NC State also deserves a shoutout for its performance in the 103-98 overtime loss to No. 9 Oklahoma. The Wolfpack might have played their best game of the season, but unfortunately their tough non-conference schedule has led them to a 5-4 record. On the bright side, their schedule for the rest of December is significantly easier that what they’ve faced so far.
Loser: Duke’s record
Duke started the game against No. 5 LSU with a 14-1 lead, but by the end of the night the Blue Devils had lost the momentum and fell 93-77 — which marked their fourth consecutive loss. Kara Lawson’s team has had some promising moments against some of the best teams in the nation and even Kim Mulkey complimented them by saying Thursday was as good as she has seem them play all season. However, this 3-6 start is the worst for Duke in the Lawson area. If they don’t get back in the winning column soon, they could be suffering consequences on Selection Sunday.
That being said, the team is still keeping a positive attitude because of the lessons they are learning through their tough non-conference schedule.
“We’re in the mud right now, and that’s both physically and literally,” said senior guard Ashlon Jackson. “It may feel bad for all of us, mentally, physically. But in March, we’ll be on and popping, and that’s something that I honestly can’t wait for.”
LSU does deserve a lot of the credit. The Tigers have had a lighter schedule than other top teams, but they have done a great job building chemistry and getting strong on both sides of the court.
Winner: Texas’s quest for the No. 1 spot
No. 2 Texas got a 79-64 win over No. 11 North Carolina, which marked the Longhorns’ third victory against a ranked opponent in less than two weeks. This result gave the Longhorns a 9-0 record, but the most impressive part is that they are doing this shorthanded due to the recent injuries of Aaliyah Crump and Bryanna Preston.
Madison Booker registered 18 points, six rebounds and four assists, but the player who shined the brightest on Thursday was Jordan Lee. The sophomore guard scored a career-high 22 points, which is just a continuation of what seems to be her breakout season.
Rori Harmon, who was recognized before the game for becoming the program’s all-time assist leader, added eight more dimes to her record. Meanwhile, Justice Carlton and Kyla Oldacre combined for 27 points and ten rebounds off the bench. During the postgame press conference, coach Vic Schaefer said he is proud to see multiple players step up.
“I could sit up here and nitpick, which they know I will,” Schaefer said. “But at the end of the day, I couldn’t be prouder of a bunch of kids right now that are really having to do something that is extremely hard. We have very little bench, very little depth…. I think that’s what makes our team so special. We have multiple weapons and you just can’t focus on one or two kids.”
