Maddy Westbeld made her first start of the season one to remember Thursday night.
Westbeld’s nearly perfect performance made sure that her No. 3 Notre Dame women’s basketball team stayed perfect in Atlantic Coast Conference play too.
Westbeld, a senior who sat out the first 13 games of season after foot surgery, poured in 20 points as the Irish topped No. 17 Georgia Tech 81-66 in ACC action in Purcell Pavilion.
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Sonia Citron tossed in a game-high 21 points as the Irish improved to 15-2 overall and 6-0 in ACC play with their 10th straight win.
Cassandre Prosper added 15 points and Olivia Miles 13 as the Irish also improved to 9-0 at home this season.
“This was a really great win, a really great team win,” said Irish coach Niele Ivey in her postgame press conference Thursday night. “These two (Citron and Westbeld) were fantastic. They did a great job leading us and stepping up and making big shots. Cass was fantastic.
“Tech is one of the best in the ACC and they are having a fantastic season. This was a really great win in the ACC.”
The Irish played their second straight game without superstar sophomore Hannah Hidalgo. The All-American guard, who ranks second in the country in scoring at 25.7 ppg., was still sidelined due to an ankle injury suffered in a win over Wake Forest on Jan. 9.
Hildago, the favorite for Player of the Year honors, was held out again as a “precaution,” Ivey said following warmups prior to Thursday night’s game. Hidalgo also averages six rebounds, 3.7 assists and 4.1 steals per game and is said to be “day-to-day.”
“She (Hidalgo) brings so much,” said Westbeld in a postgame interview on the ACC Network. “Obviously, everyone was coming out and doing a little more defensively tonight. It started on defense. That fueled our offense.”
Georgia Tech junior Kara Dunn scored 21 points and junior Tonie Morgan 17 to lead the Yellow Jackets, who fell to 15-3 overall and 3-3 in league play with their third straight loss.
Georgia Tech, which has now lost its last six games versus the Irish, were without freshman star Dani Carnagie. The guard, who is second on her team in scoring at 15.1 ppg., missed a second straight game due to a hamstring injury.
Westbeld, who is averaging 7 ppg. is feeling good about being back as a key cog for an Irish team that has battled through numerous injuries this season.
“It’s a blessing coming back and playing with my teammates,” Westbeld said. “I’m excited to practice every day and to get better every day. I’m taking it one day at a time and enjoying the process. Our focus is just on one game at a time and what we can do with this team that we have right now.”
Notre Dame, now 19-1 all time versus Georgia Tech, never trailed in the win. The Irish jumped to a 9-0 lead to open the contest as Tech misfired on its first seven shot attempts. The hosts led 20-16 after the opening period and then used a 9-0 second quarter run to build a 29-16 edge. The Yellow Jackets cut the lead to 39-36 at halftime.
Westbeld, playing in just her fourth game this season after being sidelined due to a foot injury, canned 13 points in the opening half. Citron, who averages 13.7 ppg. had 11 in the opening half.
The Irish, now 5-1 versus ranked teams this season, saw Tech tie the game at 41-41 early in the final half. A Citron bucket sparked a 9-2 run that put the hosts up 50-43. The Irish led 61-50 at the end of the third period.
“I thought we were really resilient tonight,” Ivey remarked. “We came out with great energy in that third quarter to hold them to 14 points.”
Notre Dame, sparked by Miles, opened the final half with a 10-2 run to build a 71-52 lead.
The Irish had a commanding 50-25 rebounding advantage with Liatu King grabbing 12 caroms and Prosper nine. The hosts also shot a fine 34-of-62 from the field, including 6-of-13 on 3-point tries, thanks to 21 assists with Citron having six and Miles five. The Irish also outscored Tech 46-30 in points in the paint.
Tech, which came in with back-to-back league losses to Louisville and Virginia Tech, shot just 26-of-69 from the field. The Yellow Jackets were 8-of-30 from 3-point land.
Notre Dame hosts SMU Sunday at 6 p.m. with the game televised on the ACC Newtwork.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame women’s basketball team won its 10th straight
