SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Maddy Westbeld didn’t have to look hard or far for inspiration on Sunday against a Pittsburgh team hovering near the bottom of the ACC women’s basketball standings.
Pink was everywhere at Purcell Pavilion — in the stands, as a primary color in both host 14th-ranked Notre Dame’s and the visiting Panthers’ game jerseys, even in Irish teammate Hannah Hidalgo’s dyed hair.
And the breast cancer survivors symbolized by that color on “Think Pink” day drove the ND senior forward to help catalyze an eventual lopsided 78-53 victory over a team that had flirted with an upset of the Irish in Pittsburgh back on Jan. 4.
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“We all had names [of breast cancer survivors] on our jerseys to start the game,” said Westbeld, who finished with her eighth double-double of the season and 17th of her career — 15 points and 14 rebounds — as well as three blocked shots.
“[Team trainer] Anne Marquez, literally the soul of our team, is a survivor.” Westbeld continued. “My aunt Michelle, Melissa Fortner. I could go on and on about different names, especially in our fan base. Just so many names, so many people and lives that have been affected by it that we go out and play for. It’s a big game for us. It’s a huge way to give back to our community.”
And an important momentum maintainer in a brief pitstop in South Bend for the Irish (17-4, 7-3 ACC) amid a five game stretch that includes four road games, with the next of those coming up Thursday night (6 EST, ESPN) at 16th-ranked and ACC leader Louisville (19-3, 8-1).
“February is a tough stretch for us. We know that,” Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey said. “We're going to watch some film tomorrow to look at things we can fix from today. We’ll enjoy this, but tomorrow we’ll be right back at attacking the game plan for Louisville.”
The film review will turn up some positives as well — like the Irish defense holding an opponent to less than 30% shooting for the second game in a row (29% Sunday) and under 18 percent from the arc (3-of-23, 13%).
Or the Irish amassing just nine turnovers, their fewest in a game since a Nov. 29 road win at Tennessee in which they committed seven. Or freshman Hannah Hidalgo shaking off some shooting woes early and foul trouble late to contribute a game-high 22 points along with six rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Her free throw 29 seconds into the game was the 500th career point for the nation’s third-leading scorer in her 21st career game.
“The first player to reach 500 [career points] the fastest,” Ivey noted. “I thought she was a little frustrated in the first quarter but found her way in the second half. And I thought her teammates did a great job of trying to settle her down and encouraging her on the court.
She’s a freshman at the end of the day, so even with her not making the shots (6-of-16) and free throws (6-of-10) she normally makes, she still ends with 22. Just her being a dynamic player, she’ll find a way to be impactful. She’s always going to just wear her heart on her sleeve and go as hard as she can on the floor.”
Junior Sonia Citron, who missed the 71-66 foul-fest at Pitt last month (five Irish finished with at least four fouls) while recovering from a knee sprain, added 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals Sunday for the Irish. Grad transfer Anna DeWolfe added 10 points, four assists and two steals.
Senior forward Liatu King scored nine of her team-high 18 points in the fourth quarter for Pitt (7-16, 1-9), which lost at Purcell Pavilion Sunday for the 17th time in 17 tries all time. King had a career-high 34 points in the earlier meeting this season.
Westbeld helped limit King’s touches early. And she scored when the Irish started cold from the field and led just 18-14 at the end of the first quarter, despite committing just one turnover in the game’s opening period.
And was part of a 9-2 burst to open the second half to break open a close game, keyed by Hidalgo, while providing leadership throughout.
“She’s been an impact player from the beginning,” Ivey said of Westbeld. “I put her in the fire as a freshman, and she’s just gotten better every season, every year.”
Now it’s about collective improvement and consistency as Notre Dame plows into a part of the schedule loaded with the ACC upper-tier teams, with Citron continuing to find her rhythm from her 7 ½-week layoff and perhaps no more missing pieces returning this season.
“We still have areas where I’m always trying to fine-tune,” Ivey said. “As a coach, you’re never really satisfied. You don’t want to get satisfied, but we’re definitely trending in the right direction.
“Their focus is amazing. The practices are really purposeful. They’re doing a great job of recovery. Just being really locked in, and I just love the energy of our team.
“I credit Maddy with getting us ready all the time, because she has been locked in all season. The team has really been relying on her to get us ready every game and every practice.”
And doing so while wearing a protective mask in the last eight games since returning from a concussion and a blow to the face in the last Pitt game that sideline her in a home loss to North Carolina.The mask-wearing, though, won’t necessarily carry to the end of the season.
“I’ve been practicing and I’ve been working out a lot in it” Westbeld said. “Just trying to get more comfortable in it. But it’s to the point where I almost don’t feel it, so it’s pretty good.”
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