GREENSBORO, N.C. — A little over two minutes remained in the third quarter and Georgia Tech had legitimate second-half life against Notre Dame in the ACC tournament quarterfinals in Greensboro Coliseum.
Notre Dame called a timeout after Dara Mabrey committed a turnover. The Irish led by eight points, but Tech had possession and the chance to take a significant hack at the deficit. The Jackets’ Eylia Love drew a foul, made her way to the free-throw line and sank one of two shots.
The next 11 seconds decided the game.
Maya Dodson drove through the lane for Notre Dame’s response. Then, the Fighting Irish went on a 7-0 run within the span of a minute, and suddenly, Tech found itself down by 14 yet again and eventually lost 71-53.
“We didn’t do a good-enough job defensively to make a difference,” Georgia Tech coach Nell Fortner said.
Each time Tech had a surge, Notre Dame had a louder answer. Tech lost both of its games against Notre Dame this season.
The Jackets were handed their 10th loss of the season, and the sixth in their last nine games dating back to a Feb. 7 defeat at N.C. State.
“It’s disappointing to lose a game like this where we didn’t put everything we have out there,” forward Digna Strautmane said. She led Tech with 14 points.
An 18-point defeat doesn’t indicate Tech’s showing on Friday night. The Yellow Jackets didn’t play poorly or sloppily. They had four more field-goal attempts, three more rebounds and an equal number of turnovers to Notre Dame. Tech whittled the deficit to as few as five points in the third quarter.
But the Jackets didn’t make enough shots, nor get enough stops. Notre Dame’s offense is potent, and ranks among the nation’s best. Tech’s defense, prior to the skid, had the top-rated defense in the league. One had to give, and Notre Dame won out by shooting 52% on 29 made field goals.
“A tough night,” Fortner said. “We gave too many wide-open looks, easy looks at the basket and missed defensive assignments. We weren’t mentally locked in, and we can’t afford to have that happen.”
Tech welcomed Lorela Cubaj back after she injured her chin in Thursday night’s win over Wake Forest. She had her usual stellar floor game Friday with 11 rebounds, five assists and two steals. But she didn’t score until making a pair of late baskets and finished with just four points. She shot 2-for-11 while co-star Lotta-Maj Lahtinen hit only two shots on 13 attempts. She did make a couple of crucial 3-pointers to get her team back in contention however.
Notre Dame had four double-digit scorers with Olivia Miles and Maddy Westbeld leading the way with 17 points apiece.
“Look, Notre Dame played really well,” Fortner said. “Anytime you shoot over 50%, then everybody is feeding off (of each other).”
Somewhat surprisingly, Notre Dame dominated Tech in the paint despite having a size disadvantage against the duo of Cubaj and Nerea Hermosa. Notre Dame scored 28 points inside compared to Tech’s 10. Westbeld said it came from Notre Dame’s physicality after learning what it took to compete with Tech in the Fighting Irish’s Feb. 17 win in Atlanta.
“They were tough,” Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey said of her post trio of Westbeld, Maya Dodson and Sam Brunelle. “I feel like Cubaj and Hermosa are two of the best posts in the country. It’s a credit to (our posts) and the job they’ve done this year.”
The Fighting Irish finished the game on an 11-0 run after a Cubaj layup cut the deficit to single digits.
“We really struggled defensively,” Fortner said. “That goes along with not shooting the ball well, so it was a double-whammy in that regard.”
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