SOUTH BEND, Ind. — For the second consecutive year, Notre Dame will finish the regular season with 13 wins at Purcell Pavilion.
On Thursday, the 10th-ranked Irish (23-4, 14-3) welcomed Georgia Tech (13-15, 4-13) to the home court and walked away with a 76-53 victory. It is the first time since the end of the 2018-19 regular season that Notre Dame has topped back-to-back ACC opponents by 20+ points.
“We started off a little slow, but I feel like we picked up our energy,” Karen and Kevin Keyes Family Head Coach Niele Ivey said. “I’m happy we adjusted early and turned the table.”
Georgia Tech kept in close in the first half, starting off on an 8-0 run. Ivey called a timeout to right the ship. She talked about crashing the boards and locking in defensively. It largely worked, as the Irish outscored their visiting opponent 33-19 for the remainder of the half. They took a 6-point lead into the break.
Notre Dame dominated the third quarter, winning the frame 22-12. The Irish made 10 of 16 shot attempts in that period (62.5 percent). They won the final quarter 21-14, including a 7-8 performance from the charity stripe.
In total, Olivia Miles led the charge with 13 points. She also had 8 boards, and the ACC assist leader added four more to her ever-growing list. Maddy Westbeld had 11 points, bringing her career total to 990. Finally, Kylee Watson continues her late-season surge, as she posted her first double-double of her three-year career. She finished the night with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
“I’ve been focusing a lot on my mental game,” Watson said postgame. “That comes from getting more shots up and a lot of working on being better at self talk. Being surrounded by the girls that I’m so close with really helps me too.”
As a team, Notre Dame turned the ball over just 9 times. Their season low is 8, coming against Arizona State in November. Three of five starters — Watson, Sonia Citron and Lauren Ebo — did not commit a turnover. On the other end, Georgia Tech allowed 20 points off of 16 turnovers.
It was Ebo’s Senior Night, and she was honored pre-game alongside Dara Mabrey. The 6-4 center finished the night with 8 points and 5 rebounds over 14 minutes played. She is still progressing back to a full-go after suffering a lower body injury around a month ago.
Notre Dame concludes its regular season on Sunday with an ACC title on the line. If the Irish beat Louisville, they will claim at least a share of the 2022-23 regular season championship. They are currently tied with Duke atop the standings.