SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Karen and Kevin Keyes Family Head Coach Niele Ivey has spent the season trumpeting the fact that anyone in the ACC can win on any given night. Rankings, records, previous games don’t matter. No. 10 Notre Dame (19-4, 10-3) nearly learned that the hard way on Thursday night, narrowly defeating Pittsburgh (8-16, 1-12), 69-63.
The first half was full of runs. Notre Dame scored 15 consecutive only for Pitt to post 9 of its own. The Irish shared the love during the first two frames; Sonia Citron led with 7 points, Maddy Westbeld posted 6 rebounds, and Olivia Miles recorded 4 assists. Notre Dame attempted 13 3-pointers in the first half. They entered the game averaging just 15 per 40 minutes.
The Irish were all over the offensive boards against the Panthers to start, posting 12 offensive rebounds and 15 second chance points before the break.
The third quarter was a back-and-forth affair, with the Panthers posting an 18-14 advantage. A Miles jumper with 2 minutes to play in the third frame got the crowd on its feet, but Pitt wouldn’t go away. It was a 3-point game with just over 3 minutes to play. Pittsburgh’s Dayshanette Harris had 20 points. Only seven players have now reached 20 points against Notre Dame all year.
But the Irish pulled it out by a pair of possessions, thanks in large part to a pair of Westbeld layups late. Overall, fastbreak and second chance points saved the game. Notre Dame outscored Pitt 10-1 and 25-8 in those categories, respectively.
“Happy we found a way to win tonight,” Ivey said postgame. “I felt like the last 2.5 minutes we managed the game well. You could tell that was a big improvement. We executed really well down the stretch. That’s something that we’ve been working on.”
Notre Dame shot 69.2 percent from the floor in the final quarter, going 9-13 with treys from Citron and Cassandre Prosper. They ended the contest with a 43.1 success rate (25-58).
Citron finished with 20 points, the fifth time this season she has eclipsed the mark. Miles posted 13 assists and played 40 minutes for the first time this year. There have been six individual performances in the ACC this season with 12+ assists. Miles has three. No other player has more than one.
“I’m relying on [Olivia and Sonia] a lot,” Ivey added. “Obviously they’re playing heavy minutes, and it’s a big load that they’re carrying. I’m really proud of them.”
Notre Dame has another home game on Sunday, as the Irish welcome Syracuse (16-9, 7-7) to South Bend for the annual Think Pink Game. The teams faced off in Syracuse on Jan. 15, and Notre Dame won, 72-56. This weekend’s contest tips off at 4 p.m. ET on the ACC Network