The University of Notre Dame women's basketball team had its best performance of the season with an 82-67 victory over No. 8 UW. Entering one of the toughest environments in college basketball, the Irish crushed the Huskies behind an incredible 34-point, 10-rebound performance from freshman guard Hannah Hidalgo. The matchup with UW will be Notre Dame's last non-conference game, making for a tough final stretch of the season. One game will include No. 5 North Carolina State and No. 17 Virginia Tech, as well as two games against No. 16 Louisville, which is currently moving up the standings. The top of the conference. They look to continue racking up wins as they head on the road again to face ACC opponent Georgia Tech on Thursday. All games are crucial in determining overall seeding for the ACC Tournament and NCAA Tournament, both of which are about a month away.
Notre Dame has won five of their last six games, but the Yellow Jackets have been slow, losing four of their last five games. They sit in 9th place in the ACC with a conference record of 4-5 and an overall record of 13-8. Their strength lies in the strong backcourt duo of sophomore guards Kara Dunn and Tony Morgan. Dunn leads the team in scoring with 15.7 points per game, while Morgan is right behind him with 14.9 points per game and leads the team in assists, rebounds and steals. These two have carried most of the offensive duties this season and will need big games to compete with the rapidly improving Irish.
Notre Dame's size could cause problems for Georgia Tech's starting lineup, which doesn't have a single player over 6-foot-1. This should give opportunities to junior forward Maddie Westveld and off-the-bench Natalia Marshall and Kylie Watson (all 6'3 or taller). Westbelt has been dominant this season, especially on the low side, averaging 14 points and a team-leading nine rebounds. Offensively, the Irish continue to rely on a great backcourt of Hidalgo and junior Sonia Citron, who average 24 and 18 points per game, respectively. Both players also had efficient shot splits, with Hidalgo at 49/39/80 and Citron at 47/40/90. Following the disappointing news of Olivia Miles' injury status, which will keep her out for the season, both guards must continue to lead the team during this season-defining period.
Notre Dame, ranked No. 6 in the ACC and entering this year's tournament slated to be a No. 6 seed, will be hungry to prove they belong among the elite teams. Although the first half of the schedule was relatively easy, the Irish began to face consistent tests that revealed the team's true identity. Despite the big thing we went through last Saturday, we need to stay consistent this Thursday. Georgia Tech hasn't been a threat to ranked teams this season, but road games in the ACC are never simple.
Thursday's contest at McCamish Pavilion begins at 7 p.m. with broadcast on ACC Network Extra.
