(photo courtesy Notre Dame Athletics)

(Notre Dame) — Earlier in the day, Notre Dame was elevated to the #1 spot in the Associated Press women’s college basketball poll. Monday night, the Irish showed a sellout crowd and national television audience why they were worthy of that honor.

Notre Dame played stifling defense in the middle two quarters and pulled away from #11 Duke, downing the Blue Devils, 64-49, at Purcell Pavilion. The win is Notre Dame’s 18th in a row and raises their mark to 23-2 overall and an unblemished 14-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

“We knew it started with our defense,” noted Irish guard Hannah Hidalgo, who led the Irish with 19 points. “Just getting stops and being able to score in transition is what got us going.”

Duke came out firing in the first quarter, hitting 8-of-15 shots to grab a 19-16 lead.  Neither team played particularly well in the second quarter, as both teams shot just 27% for the quarter. The Irish rallied late in the quarter on a Maddy Westbeld three and a pair of Sonia Citron free throws to grab a 29-27 halftime lead.

Notre Dame was energized to start the third quarter, putting together a 17-1 run. Citron, whose ball faking and movement off the ball was exquisite, scored the first six points of the stanza, on her way to a 15-point night. Then Hidalgo and Olivia Miles started creating transition opportunities with defense. It took Duke six minutes to score its first hoop of the half, by then trailing 46-31.

“We worked on this for the past week, being able to handle pressure and being able to stay poised,” said Hidalgo. “We pressured them and made them uncomfortable, giving them a little dose of their own medicine.”

It’s a busy week for the Irish, who visit Miami Thursday before another nationally-televised game with North Carolina State Sunday afternoon.