GREENSBORO, N.C. – The No. 3 seeded Notre Dame women’s basketball team (22-7) advanced to the ACC Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2019, knocking off No. 6 seeded Georgia Tech (21-10), 71-53.
Maddy Westbeld had a team high in points (17) and rebounds (8), while Olivia Miles matched her in scoring with 17 points as well. Miles also recorded her eighth double-double on the year and fourth of the points/assists variety, dishing out 13 of the team’s 15 assists.
Sam Brunelle notched double-digit points for the ninth time this year, scoring 14 points behind a 4-for-8 day from three. Sonia Citron was the fourth and final Irish player in double figures with 12 points and six boards.
Next up, the Irish will have a short turnaround for the ACC Tournament semifinals round, taking place at 2:30 p.m. ET on Saturday on ACC Network. The opponent – No. 7 seeded Miami – who stunned No. 2 seeded Louisville 61-59 on a buzzer-beater.
How It Happened
Notre Dame created a little separation midway through the first, as Westbeld and Brunelle combined for a 7-0 run from 4:20-2:48 to garner an 11-7 lead. Dodson recorded a huge block around the 48-second mark but then picked up her second foul with 20 seconds left. She would sit on the bench for the remainder of the half as a result. Next, the Yellow Jackets hit a buzzer-beater to close the quarter and cut it to 13-11 Notre Dame.
The Irish recorded a stretch in the second in which they made five of seven shots, extending their lead to 25-18 and forcing a Georgia Tech timeout at 4:39. Later, Notre Dame made its last three shots of the half to go up 34-25 at the midway point. In fact, the Irish shot 9-of-14 in a very efficient quarter in which Miles produced eight points, Westbeld six and Brunelle five.
Miles went 2-for-2 from three in the second and possessed 10 points and seven assists at the half. Westbeld went 3-for-4 in the second and also reached 10 points at the half to go with her six rebounds.
In a deja-vu moment from the game in Atlanta back in February, Georgia Tech came out and hit a flurry of three treys in about an 80-second span. However, the Irish took the punches and dished them back, as each three was countered by an ND score, including back-to-back three-pointers from Mabrey and Citron to make it 46-36 at 5:44.
Dodson, Miles and a Brunelle three resulted in a swift 7-0 run in less than a minute, pushing the Irish lead to 14 before Georgia Tech hit its fifth three of the quarter (5-of-6 from beyond the arc to be exact).
Therefore, Notre Dame boasted a 54-43 advantage to start the fourth. Fast forward to four minutes remaining and the Irish lead was cut down to 60-53. Citron then connected on a big and-one and ultimately scored five straight points. Tack on Miles and Brunelle three-pointers and it was an Irish 11-0 run which put the game out of reach.
— ND —