CORAL GABLES, Fla. — It looked like it was going to be easy, but anyone familiar with ACC basketball knows it never is.
On Thursday, No. 5 Notre Dame (11-1, 2-0) played its second conference game of the 2022-23 season against a scrappy Miami (7-6, 0-2) team, pulling out a 66-63 victory.
Thanks in part to an 11-0 blue and gold run, it was 21-8 in favor of the Irish with 2:44 to play in the first quarter. The Hurricanes posted a mini run of their own, but it was still 41-31 Notre Dame at the break.
The Hurricanes were anything but finished.
Miami came out in the second half and outscored Notre Dame 22-12 in Q3, forcing nine turnovers along the way. Sophomore Hurricane guard Lashae Dwyer gave Irish star Olivia Miles all kinds of trouble, limiting what was a dominant first half from the already-two-time ACC Player of the Week this year. Miami forward Destiny Harden — a veteran who has seen this Irish team before — finished with 12 points and nine rebounds, and she likely would’ve added to those stats if not for foul trouble.
“I thought their defensive energy and intensity really bothered us in the third quarter,” said Niele Ivey, Karen & Kevin Keyes Family Head Coach.
It was a defensive stop that ultimately won the contest for the Irish, as the Hurricanes lobbed up three-pointer after three-pointer in the final minute in an effort to tie the game at 66. They missed all four of them, and Notre Dame walked away with a second ACC win on the year.
Miles spent the majority of the evening on triple-double watch once again, amassing 10 points, five rebounds and six assists in the first half. She finished with 12, eight and nine, respectively.
In total, four Notre Dame women finished with 10+ points. Sonia Citron did so for the 11th consecutive game. Maddy Westbeld had flirted with a double-double all season, and she finally notched one (15 points, 11 rebounds). The junior shooting forward had three blocks on the night, and she entered the game tied for fourth in the conference with 1.8 blocks per contest.
“I think it was important for us to start out locked in,” Westbeld said after the game. “It should’ve started on the defensive end, but I just got going on the offensive end. They were leaving me open in the first quarter, so I took advantage of that.”
The aforementioned turnovers were a big issue on the day. Notre Dame finished with a total of 22, and the Hurricanes scored 19 points as a result of them. The Irish entered Thursday night surrendering an average of 12.5 points off turnovers each time they have taken the floor.
Notre Dame now heads back to South Bend to prepare for a New Year’s Day showdown against Boston College (11-4, 1-1). This will be the Eagles’ first game since Dec. 22, and Notre Dame is 26-9 all-time against them. Sunday’s game tips off at 12:00 p.m. ET on the ACC Network.