Notre Dame Women Defeat Georgia Tech, 69-67
Notre Dame men's basketball coach head coach Mike Brey often has noted how one-game winning streaks in conference play are cherished.
Two in a row are now especially prized by first-year Fighting Irish women's coach Niele Ivey following a 69-67 victory versus Georgia Tech on Sunday afternoon at Purcell Pavilion. The Yellow Jackets had defeated the Irish in the ACC opener, 82-67.
In a see-saw, thrilling contest that had 24 lead changes, Notre Dame recorded its first back-to-back wins this season to improve to 5-4 overall and 3-2 in the ACC. Sixth-year senior guard Destinee Walker's corner jumper with 20 seconds remaining provided the game-winning points, and then a strong collective defensive effort forced an air ball on Georgia Tech's final possession as time expired.
The Irish trailed 28-24 at halftime while shooting only 10 of 28 from the field (35.7 percent), but were 18 of 30 (60.0 percent) in the second half, notably 5 of 7 from three-point range. In fact, after missing their first four shots beyond the arc in the game, the Irish converted six of their last eight, starting with an NBA-range three by freshman Maddy Westbeld as the horn sounded to end the first half.
Junior Marina Mabrey led the Irish with 16 points on 6 of 9 shooting (2 of 4 from three) while Walker contributed 15 points and three assists. Westbeld fouled out in the fourth quarter but chipped in with 11 points, five rebounds and two assists.
"There was a lot of raw emotion out there today because we did lose to them a couple of weeks ago, and we came together as a team," Mabrey said. "... We trusted each other and had our backs, and that's so huge for a new group rebuilding."
Sophomore Anaya Peoples paced the Irish in rebounds (7) and assists (6), while senior Mikki Vaughn is beginning to find a rhythm (11 points, five rebounds, four steals) and provided the team better overall toughness on defense, which was lacking in the first meeting when she was still recovering from knee surgery. Junior guard Abby Prohaska provided a third-quarter spark with six points and an assist to go with her defensive skills.
"We really grew as a group and as a team, finding a way to play together. I feel like we're growing and getting better," said Ivey of keeping the composure during the back-and-forth contest.
The Irish have a two-game road swing this week with games on Thursday (Boston College) and Sunday (Boston College).
Three-Point Play
1. Bouncing Back — After sitting six consecutive quarters last month even though she was not injured, last year's leading scorer Walker has responded with maturity and clutch play. She entered the game only 4 of 16 beyond the arc but converted both against Georgia Tech, in addition to the game-winning jumper.
2. Instant Firepower — To have the top two scorers from last year, Walker and sophomore Sam Brunelle (in foul trouble today), come off the bench speaks to the quality of the numbers this year compared to last season. Prior to Christmas, sophomore guard Katlyn Gilbert, also a double-digit scorer last year, injured her foot, and freshman Amirah Abdur-Rahim tweaked her knee.
They are temporarily sidelined, but Ivey has comfortably assembled a mainly seven-person rotation the past couple of games that has kept a better rhythm and chemistry on the floor. It's no disrespect to anyone, but sometimes less can be more.
3. On The Rebound — Georgia Tech has two of the better post players in the conference and it showed with a 39-27 rebounding advantage. This included 17-9 on offense that resulted in the Yellow Jackets outscoring the Irish 19-9 on second-chance points.
With Vaughn continuing to improve, this is an area where the Irish need to be stronger, first with just boxing out principles. The 5-10 Peoples is as feisty and instinctual underneath the boards as you will find, but more collective help is needed.
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