Balanced scoring, strong second half leads Notre Dame to a 76-53 win over Georgia Tech

Balanced scoring, a dominating second half and the first-career double-double for junior forward Kylee Watson marked the highlights Thursday in a dominating 76-53 win for No. 10 Notre Dame over Georgia Tech at Purcell Pavilion. 

After building a precarious 33-27 halftime lead, the Irish broke the game open with a 22-12 third quarter and a 45-26 second half. 

“We started off a little slow, but I feel like we picked up our energy,” Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey said after the game. “I’m happy we adjusted early and turned the table.”

Watson put together an efficient performance to finish with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting and 10 rebounds. 

“That comes from getting more shots up, and a lot of working on being better and self-talk,” Watson shared after the game. “Being surrounded by the girls that I’m so close with really helps me, too.”

Sophomore guard Olivia Miles led all scorers with 13 points, while adding 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Sophomore guard Sonia Citron had 12 points. Junior forward Maddy Westbeld chipped in with 11, and freshman guard KK Bransford added 10 to round out a group of five Irish double-digit scorers. 

After wrapping up its regular-season home schedule, Ivey celebrated the lively and long-staying crowd afterward. 

“I’ve never seen this building so electric,” Ivey said of a group that’s presumably set to return to Purcell Pavilion in a couple of weeks as an NCAA Tournament first- and second-round host site. “The energy that you brought to this building was fantastic and we thank you.”

A game expected to be a cakewalk for the No. 10 Irish against one of the ACC bottom feeders didn’t start out that way.

Georgia Tech (13-15, 4-13 ACC) came out confident and firing, making its first four shots while Notre Dame (23-4, 14-3 ACC) missed its first five shots and trailed 8-0 less than three minutes into the game. 

Balanced scoring, a workmanlike effort, and a 17-4 run to finish the first quarter helped Notre Dame to a 17-12 lead into the first break.

A good test

Georgia Tech never quit and didn’t play like a team that had dropped three out of its last four games. Notre Dame’s biggest lead of the first half didn’t come until 27-18 midway through the second quarter. 

But the talent, depth and balance differential took over in the second half.

Notre Dame outscored Georgia Tech 22-12 in the third quarter to turn a six-point halftime lead into a 55-39 advantage after three quarters. The Irish went on cruise control in the fourth, outscoring the Jackets 21-14 to earn their fifth straight win.  

The Yellow Jackets — a worthy opponent that beat No. 15 North Carolina State Feb. 2 — had enough firepower to hang with Notre Dame in stretches, but not enough depth to pull an upset or stick around for the long haul.

Notre Dame out-rebounded Georgia Tech 45-33 and dominated the points in the paint 44-18. The Irish also forced 16 Georgia Tech turnovers which parlayed into 20 points. 

Up next: Notre Dame finishes its 2022-23 regular season Sunday at Louisville (21-9, 12-5) with a possible ACC regular season title and either a No. 1 or No. 2 seed for the ACC Tournament still at stake.

The Irish and No. 11 Duke (24-4, 14-3) will enter the weekend tied in conference win-loss record, but the Blue Devils hold any tiebreaker advantages after beating the Irish 57-52 Feb. 5 at Purcell Pavilion.