CONWAY, S.C. -- For all the talk of parity in the ACC, Notre Dame left no doubt on Sunday as to which team reigns supreme.
The Fighting Irish (30-3) never trailed in dismantling Duke 84-61 at HTC Coliseum, showing off a dizzying display of offense even Tom Brady would envy.
Picking an MVP in this tournament is a lot like choosing your favorite Hershey bar: They're all great.
Consider Arike Ogunbowale, the sophomore who plays with the poise of a senior. The leading scorer in each of the tournament wins over Virginia, Louisville and Duke, the Nigerian finished with 21 points Sunday, including five 3-pointers.
Don't forget about out two-time ACC defensive player of the year Brianna Turner, whose 18 points against Duke came on 6-of-7 shooting. She followed up a 16-point effort in the quarterfinals with 16 more in Saturday's semifinal.
Sophomore Marina Mabrey might be the best pure shooter on the team. She scored 13 against the Blue Devils after amassing 26 against Louisville.
But the tie that binds is Lindsay Allen, who became the ACC's all-time assist leader on Friday and padded those stats over the weekend to finish with 33 in the trio of games. The senior from Mitchellville, Maryland, tied her record for assists in a game with 13 against the Blue Devils. Did we mention her 11 points, giving her a double-double?
The MVP nod went to Allen, who is at 811 assists and counting in the ACC.
"You don't need to score all the points to be MVP," Ogunbowale said.
"She makes my job easy," said Muffet McGraw, who notched her 850th coaching victory.
But Allen insists the cast around her makes her job a breeze. Notre Dame assisted on 24 of its 31 field goals.
"It's a point guard's dream, being able to pass it to anyone; anyone can shoot," said Allen, who added seven rebounds and five steals. "It's really fun for me to be look down court and find Bri or hit Orike on a drive or Marina for a 3."
Or Erin Boley. The freshman came off the bench for 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
That hint of vulnerability that Notre Dame showed in this league on Dec. 29 when the Irish were upset by North Carolina State, only their second loss ever in the ACC, was only a tease. They didn't lose again in the conference and will bring a 15-game win streak into the NCAA tournament.
Their win on Sunday cements a legacy that will likely grow in a conference that is arguably the best in the nation.
The Irish own the double-double of winning the ACC regular season and conference for the past four seasons, a mark previously only held by Duke from 2001-04. Add their final Big East title, and the Irish have a string of five straight conference tournament titles.
Allen never doubted she'd being standing amid the balloons and confetti again, even after the N.C. State game.
"If anything, that woke us up," she said.
"We didn't want to be that team that lost this," Turner added.
Duke weathered a fast start by Notre Dame when the Irish scored on eight of their opening nine possessions. The Blue Devils trailed 43-31 at the break and scored the first 10 of the third quarter to make it a two-point game midway through the third.
That energized the Duke supporters who had made the three-hour drive south for an ACC tournament that was slated for Greensboro until the league moved its neutral site championships out of North Carolina because of the state's transgender bathroom bill.
Trailing 43-41, the team that knocked out Syracuse and Miami en route to reaching its first championship game since 2013 had found its groove.
Timeout Notre Dame. Find Turner inside, McGraw urged her team. Good things will follow.
Ogunbowale made a 3, and off to the races went the Irish. Their 14-0 tear included back-to-back scores from Turner and ended any anticipation of fourth-quarter drama.
"We went to her and that opened up things on the outside for us to make some shots," McGraw said.
Notre Dame led by as many as 23.
"Our defense broke down and they scored points," said Duke coach Joanne McCallie. "I was really proud of our run, but you can't expect to just go at a team one time and assume they're just going to back up and allow you to -- you have to be very, very aggressive, and we backed up."
The loss interrupted a win streak of 10 that started after Duke lost to the Irish in South Bend. Now the Blue Devils look for lessons again while they wait a week until Selection Monday. They will likely be a No. 2 seed and one of as many as seven teams in the ACC to earn an at-large bid.
"I wish we wouldn't have to learn from a loss," said Duke junior Lexie Brown, who made her own MVP case with 58 points in the three games, including eight 3-pointers and a 20-of-22 display at the free throw line.
Notre Dame, a 30-game winner for the sixth year in a row, is poised to be an NCAA No. 1 seed, likely in the Lexington Regional.