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Dara Mabrey re-emerges as Notre Dame passes critical road test in OT

Against one of the nation’s top defensive teams. Notre Dame flipped the script Thursday night. On the road. In overtime.

And the 19th-ranked Irish women’s basketball team then emerged with one of the most significant victories so far in the second year of the coach Niele Ivey regime, 72-66, over No. 16 Georgia Tech at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta.

The victory gave Notre Dame (20-6, 11-4 ACC) the inside track for the fourth and final double-bye slot in the upcoming ACC Tournament (March 2-6) and kept a foothold in the conversation for hosting early-round NCAA Tournament games.

Just as important, the Irish showed the kind of growth Thursday night that they might be able to do something with those seeding advantages. That after bottoming out Sunday at No. 3 Louisville.

Poise and defense came to the forefront in overtime after Georgia Tech (19-7, 10-5) rallied from 10 down in the fourth quarter. The Irish held the Yellow Jackets to 1-of-5 shooting from the field in the extra session, including 0-for-2 from the arc.

“We just talked about locking in and finding shooters and rebounders,” Ivey said. “They really did. Anaya (Peoples) did a great job of helping us defensively, and we got the stops we needed and I felt like we executed a lot better. I felt we raised the level of our defense in the overtime.

“I’m hoping this can continue to propel our confidence in what we’re doing. We talked about (that) you have to play at a higher level when you’re playing a ranked team on the road. You have to play with a certain level of confidence and edge.

“It’s a huge milestone for us and something I hope we can continue to grow from.”

Senior guard Dara Mabrey was the consummate offensive complement, against the nation’s No. 3 scoring defense (50.1 ppg), to the late Irish defense surge. She scored all 11 of her points after the third quarter, including six of Notre Dame’s 11 points in overtime.

Mabrey had gone scoreless in two of her past three games and was in a prolonged shooting slump when she finally found her touch.

“We were trying to find different looks to try to get a bucket, and she just delivered when we needed her to,” Ivey said. “I’m just so proud of her.”

Three Irish players delivered double-doubles. Georgia native Maya Dodson had 11 points and 11 rebounds as well as four blocks a day after her 23rd birthday. Maddy Westbeld had 10 boards and 10 points, including a half-court bank shot to end the first quarter.

Freshman guard Sonia Citron added 10 points and 11 rebounds, while freshman sidekick Olivia Miles led ND with 18 points with eight assists.

Peoples and Sam Brunelle made significant contributions off the bench, the latter playing in a shoulder harness after spraining her right shoulder Sunday at Louisville.

“I was keeping an eye on her,” Ivey said. “So happy with her. You just never know how she was going to feel today. She didn’t get a chance to practice this week, so I thought she was fresh. Her shot looked good.

“She wasn’t sore, which was awesome. And her presence on the floor, she stretches the defense. She got a couple of steals early. She was ready, and I was really happy for that.”

Notre Dame led by as many as 16 points in the first half, and some of its problems were self-inflicted when Georgia Tech made its move in the second half. The Irish finished with 16 turnovers and cashed in just seven of 14 free throw chances.

Dodson battled foul trouble for much of the second half and sat on the bench because of it at key junctures. But the Irish were able to generate enough offense against a Tech team that held UConn to 44 points earlier this season in a double-digit win and a ranked North Carolina team to 38 points less than a month ago.

Finland native Lotta-Maj Lahtinen played all 45 minutes for the Yellow Jackets and led them with 24 points, including three of Tech’s nine 3-pointers.

The schedule says Notre Dame has just two games left on its regular-season schedule — next Thursday vs. Clemson and Sunday, Feb. 27 vs. Louisville, both at home. But the Irish have a pending makeup game with last-place Virginia … maybe.

It’s important that the Irish make up that game and win it, because ND holds ACC Tourney seeding tiebreakers with the team directly ahead of it (Virginia Tech) and the two one game behind it in the ACC standings — Georgia Tech and North Carolina.

The road game against the Cavaliers would be slotted for Tuesday.

BOX SCORE

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