SOUTH BEND, Ind. — For the fifth time this season, No. 3 Notre Dame toppled a ranked foe by double digits.
On Thursday, the Irish (15-2, 6-0) hosted 17th-ranked Georgia Tech (15-3, 3-3) and earned an 81-66 victory. Sonia Citron and Maddy Westbeld led the way with 21 and 20 points, respectively, and Cassandre Prosper added 15 to keep Notre Dame undefeated at home this season. With her points, Westbeld became the seventh Notre Dame player this year with a 20-point game.
“This group, really resilient, came out and completed this game,” Karen and Kevin Keyes Family Head Coach Niele Ivey said after the win. “I thought Soni played one of her best games, getting downhill, playing with force and pace, and Maddy continues to get more comfortable game after game.
“They did a great job of leading us.”
Notre Dame started the game on a 9-0 run, and Georgia Tech was 0-7 from the field before hitting a triple. Westbeld had a trey of her own off a dish from Liza Karlen and had 7 points at the end of the first period after making her first start of the season and 121st of her career. The Irish had a 20-16 lead after 10 minutes.
“It was incredible,” Westbeld said postgame. “I think it’s just a blessing to get out on the court again and play with my teammates, and to start the game was really special to me.”
The Yellow Jackets closed the gap to five at 2:07 left in the half, the closest they had been to catching the Irish since the start of the second period. While the Irish turned the ball over three times to end the half, Georgia Tech went 4-4 from the field, including a score with 10 seconds to go to make it 39-36 in favor of Notre Dame heading into halftime.
After an 11-point first quarter, Georgia Tech’s Tonie Morgan picked up her second foul with 5:14 to go in the half. She did not return before the break.
The third quarter was a back and forth affair — neither team scored more than a pair of baskets without a counter — but Citron started to take control. She was 4-6 in Q3 with 2 assists and 2 steals. Prosper and Westbeld also continued their fantastic nights with a triple each. Notre Dame had a 11-point lead with 10 to play.
A couple of Citron free throws and a Westbeld jumper gave Notre Dame a 65-50 lead with 8:39 to go, leading to a Yellow Jackets timeout. The Irish stretched the lead as large as 19 before surrendering an 8-0 run to Georgia Tech.
Notre Dame responded with jumpers from Olivia Miles and Liatu King, while the Yellow Jackets matched with two more buckets of their own, which would be their final baskets of the game as the Irish held them scoreless in the final 2:24 of play.
King and Miles closed it out with a jumper and layup to extend the Irish lead and secure the 15-point victory. Notre Dame out-rebounded Georgia Tech 50-25, and King had 12 of those boards.
The Irish continue the homestand with SMU on Sunday. The game will air on the ACC Network at 6 p.m.