SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Karen and Kevin Keyes Family Head Coach Niele Ivey has preached consistency, consistency, consistency to her team all season. She’s finally starting to see it game after game.
The No. 14 Irish (17-4, 7-3) defeated Pittsburgh (7-16, 1-9) on Sunday, 78-53, thanks to a balanced, clean performance. Notre Dame set the defensive tone from the jump, and the Irish never let up on that end of the floor.
“I think we’re getting there,” Ivey said after the game. “As a coach, you’re never really satisfied and don’t want to get satisfied, but we are definitely trending in the right direction. The focus is amazing. The practices are purposeful. They’re all recovering well. I love the energy of our team.”
Ivey specifically shouted out Maddy Westbeld’s leadership as a critical piece of that energy. Westbeld — who entered the game as one of just four ACC players averaging at least 13 points and 8 rebounds per game — dropped 15 and 14 on Sunday afternoon for her eighth double-double of the year. She had nine double-doubles over her first three seasons at Notre Dame.
“I’m in a really good spot as far as my shape,” Westbeld said postgame. “I’ve seen my activity level increase, and I’ve been able to compete for 40 minutes. I’ve locked in on my recovery and doing the little things off the court.”
Three other Irish posted double-figure points against the Panthers: Hannah Hidalgo (22), Sonia Citron (15) and Anna DeWolfe (10). Hidalgo continues to stuff the stat sheet in all categories, adding 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals against Pitt. Citron and DeWolfe combined for five 3-pointers, and Notre Dame totaled 10 treys on the afternoon. Their average entering Sunday was 5.7 per contest.
Defensively, Notre Dame was locked in for 40 minutes. Pittsburgh did not score more than 16 points in any quarter, and the Irish allowed them to hit just a pair of shots in Q3 (2-18 from the floor) to close the door on the visitors. The Panthers shot 28.8 percent on the afternoon, including a 3-23 clip from deep. Westbeld had 3 blocks, while Citron had 2. Pittsburgh star Liatu King was held to 18 points, under her season average of 19.2.
Up next, Notre Dame plays three consecutive teams that are either ranked or receiving votes: No. 16 Louisville, RV Florida State and No. 5 NC State. The tough stretch starts in Louisville on Thursday night with a 6 p.m. tip on ESPN.