Jan. 22, 2015
Recap | Box Score | Quotes | Photo Gallery 
Inside The Game: #6/5 Notre Dame 89, Georgia Tech 76
January 22, 2015 – Notre Dame, Indiana (Purcell Pavilion)
It Was Over When: The game didn’t feature a particularly definitive “it was over” moment, as a pesky Georgia Tech squad overcame an early 18-point deficit and stayed within 10-13 points for virtually the entire second half. However, with 7:34 left in the game, sophomore guard Lindsay Allen converted a layup as part of a mini 6-0 Fighting Irish run that eventually gave Notre Dame an 81-64 lead and the hosts maintained their double-digit advantage the rest of the night.
Game Ball Goes To: Similar to how a broken record keeps repeating the same thing over and over, junior guard Jewell Loyd keeps repeating productive game after productive game. Against the Yellow Jackets, the Lincolnwood, Illinois, native had game highs in points (29) and assists (7; also tying her career high) while adding three steals and five rebounds for another “5-5-5” game. She went a solid 10 of 17 from the field and a perfect nine of nine from the charity stripe.
Unsung Hero: Adding a tough presence down low for the second straight game, sophomore forward Taya Reimer just missed a double-double with 19 points and a game-high eight rebounds (all eight of the defensive variety). She also dished out four assists and played a career-high 36 minutes.
Unofficial Play of the Game: If assists could be handed out in bunches as they are in hockey, this particular play deserved three of them. Off a rebound, sophomore guard Lindsay Allen hurled the ball down the court to junior guard Michaela Mabrey, who rifled the ball to a leaping Jewell Loyd, who while in mid-air dropped a pass back to trailing freshman forward Brianna Turner for the easy fast-break layup, giving Notre Dame a 16-4 lead just 4:22 into the game.
Stat Of The Game: Entering the game averaging almost 19 assists a game this season, the Fighting Irish were quite unselfish Thursday night, as they almost matched their season high with 27 assists against Georgia Tech. Five players tallied three or more helpers, while four had four or more. The Yellow Jackets, meanwhile, had just 13 assists, with Zaire O’Neil leading the way with four.
Additional Notes: Notre Dame led wire-to-wire for the second consecutive game … the Fighting Irish improve to 3-0 all-time in the abbreviated series with Georgia Tech … Notre Dame is 7-2 all-time (4-1 at home) against teams from the state of Georgia, and has won its last seven games against the Peach State … the Fighting Irish shot better than 50 percent from the field for the ninth time in 10 games, and topped 55 percent shooting for the second consecutive game, the second time this year they have posted back-to-back 55 percent nights (three in a row from Nov. 25-Dec. 3 vs. Quinnipiac, Kansas and No. 15/10 Maryland) … Notre Dame shot better than 55 percent in both halves for the first time since that Dec. 3 win over Maryland … Notre Dame has won 51 of its last 54 conference regular season games overall and 21 consecutive home conference games … Loyd moved into the top 10 on the Fighting Irish career scoring list with 1,574 points, passing current operations specialist/former teammate and All-America forward Natalie Achonwa (1,546 points from 2010-14), Charel Allen (1,566 points from 2004-08) and another former All-American named Natalie, Natalie Novosel (1,569 points from 2008-12) … this marked the third time this season Loyd has scored at least 25 points in consecutive games … this was Loyd’s 13th 20-point game of the season and 28th of her career, the latter good for eighth place in program history … Loyd tied her career high with seven assists, having previously dished out seven assists at UCLA on Dec. 28, 2014 … Loyd’s nine of nine performance at the free-throw line was the best foul shooting game of her career, one better than her eight of eight day on March 8, 2014, against No. 14/17 North Carolina State in the ACC Tournament semifinals at Greensboro, North Carolina … Reimer’s 19 points were two shy of her career set on Dec. 3 against No. 15/10 Maryland and represented her ninth double-figure scoring game of the season … Allen delivered at least five assists for the seventh consecutive game.
Up Next For The Fighting Irish: Notre Dame has a quick turnaround as it travels to Clemson, South Carolina, for the first time in program history on Saturday for a 5 p.m. (ET) ACC matchup against Clemson at Littlejohn Coliseum. Radio coverage will be available in South Bend on Pulse FM (96.9/92.1) and free of charge worldwide online through the official Notre Dame athletics multimedia platform, WatchND (watchnd.tv). Fans can also sign up for the pay-per-view video feed through the official Clemson web site, ClemsonTigers.com.
–Chris Masters, Associate Athletic Media Relations Director
–Russell Dorn, Assistant Athletic Media Relations Director