Confident Irish dismiss Georgia Tech, face upstart Miami in ACC semis
Revenge won’t be part of the arsenal Notre Dame’s women’s basketball team carries into Saturday’s Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament semifinal.
It got replaced by confidence Friday night.
A 71-53 quarterfinal win over No. 6-seed Georgia Tech, coupled with No. 7-seed Miami’s (19-11) stunning last-second upset victory over No. 2-seed Louisville, sends the 22-7 No. 3-seed Irish against the Hurricanes (19-11) at 2:30 p.m. in Greensboro, N.C.
In the other semifinal at noon, No. 5 Virginia Tech (23-8) will take on top-seed North Carolina State (27-3).
“This is such a strong league,” said Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey. “I’m just ecstatic to lead this group back (to the semifinals for the first time since 2019).”
The Irish punched their ticket to the next round, thanks to Olivia Miles and Maddy Westbeld each scoring 17 points. Miles added 13 assists and Westbeld had eight rebounds.
Sam Brunelle added 14 points for Notre Dame and Sonia Citron scored 12.
Digne Strautmane scored 12 for the Yellow Jackets (21-10) and Eylia Love added 11.
Ever since last Sunday, when the Irish were throttled by Louisville, the thought of a rematch in the tournament was a significant factor. Only Notre Dame lived up to its part of the bargain.
“We came out and set the tone tonight,” Ivey said. “I was pleased with the way we responded from Sunday.”
Trailing 14-13 early in the second quarter, Notre Dame had a spurt in which it hit 5 of 7 shots and outscored Georgia Tech, 12-4. Miles had two of those buckets, including a 3-pointer.
With a seven-point cushion, the Irish were able to build a 34-25 advantage by intermission.
Miles and Westbeld had 10 points each at the break. Miles had seven assists and Westbeld added six rebounds.
Georgia Tech cut the lead to four, 40-36, with a Strautmane 3-pointer midway through the fourth quarter, but it never got closer.
“It was a disappointing loss; we struggled on defense,” said Yellow Jackets coach Nell Fortner. “We weren’t mentally locked in, and it hurt us. (It was a) tough night. Notre Dame shot the ball well.”
The Irish, who scored the game’s last 11 points to turn a tight game into a blowout, shot 52% from the field against one of the ACC’s best defenses.
“Our offense got a lot in transition,” Miles said. “My teammates ran with me. They trust me, and I get them the ball.”
Ivey was most impressed with the post play of Maya Dodson, Westbeld and Brunelle. Notre Dame was undersized compared to Georgia Tech’s front line, but the Yellow Jackets managed just a 36-33 edge on the boards.
“We matched their physicality,” said Ivey.
“Our plan was to go in there and not be afraid,” Westbeld said. “We can compete with whoever there is.”
“Notre Dame played really well,” said Fortner. “Everybody was feeding off everybody. We gave them too many open looks.”
In their only meeting this season, Notre Dame beat Miami, 69-53, on Feb. 10 in South Bend, Ind.
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