SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The undefeated streak at home rolled on as the No. 18/19 Notre Dame women’s basketball team improved to 12-0 inside Purcell Pavilion this season, defeating the University of Miami, 69-53. The Fighting Irish (19-5, 10-3) held the Hurricanes (12-10, 5-7) to just 11 points in each of the first three quarters, posting a new season best in points allowed in an ACC contest this season.
The birthday girl Maddy Westbeld recorded her third 20-point performance of the season and her best scoring effort since her season high of 22 at DePaul back on Dec. 22. Against Miami on Thursday, Westbeld poured in 21 points on a career best 4-of-5 from three. The Ohio native finished 8-of-11 from the field to go along with her eight rebounds.
Maya Dodson posted her sixth double-double of the year, all of which have come in the last nine games. Tonight, the Georgia native tallied 12 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. Next, Sonia Citron recorded 15 points, eight of which came in the fourth quarter. The freshman also reeled in eight boards.
How It Happened
Notre Dame started just 3-for-13 from the field before the offense began to churn. The Irish made their last four shots from the field in the quarter, including a Citron floater before the buzzer, which equated to an 11-3 run over the final five minutes. As a result, Notre Dame led Miami, 17-11 after one.
In the second quarter, the Irish shot 7-of-10 from the field, outpacing the Hurricanes 16-11 to build a 33-22 halftime lead. The highlight of the period occurred around the 6:18 mark when Westbeld collected a block, passed to Miles, who then quickly brought it up the court and found Mabrey in the corner for a three.
Westbeld was ultimately the spark in the first half, hitting double digits by the 7:50 mark in the second and by halftime, she boasted 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting, plus six rebounds, one steal and one block. Dodson also stuffed the stat sheet in the half with eight points, six boards and three blocks.
It was another strong finish to a quarter in the third, as the Irish outscored the Hurricanes 14-3 over the final 5:08. Westbeld connected on two treys in the period, while Dodson, Citron and Peoples all supplied four points each.
By the end of third, Westbeld boasted 18 points, while Dodson already had her double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. With that said, Notre Dame owned a 53-33 advantage heading into the fourth.
Miami’s offense did show some life to start the fourth, firing off a quick 7-0 scoring run to prompt a Coach Ivey timeout at the 8:08 mark. The Irish responded out of the timeout with a Mabrey three-pointer, which ignited a 12-3 scoring run over the next three-and-a-half minutes, putting the game out of reach at 65-43.
Citron continued her trend of taking over the fourth quarter, scoring eight of her 15 points in the final period.
Up Next
Notre Dame renews its rivalry with No. 3 Louisville on Sunday, Feb. 13. Tip inside the KFC Yum! Center is set for 2 p.m. ET on ESPN.
— ND —