Written by: Jhett Garrett ⏐ Writer ⏐ Twitter/X: @JhettGarrett
Photo by The Irish Tribune
After dominating UConn on the road this past Saturday, the Notre Dame women’s team continued their road trip in Atlanta against Georgia Tech. The Irish dominated the game from the tip and ultimately won 85-48.
It started on the defensive side of the ball, as the Irish held Georgia Tech to just 17 first-half points, and finished the game with 12 steals. “We’ve really been focusing on locking in and being consistent defensively,” said Notre Dame Head Coach Niele Ivey. In the last six Notre Dame wins they are only giving up 59 points per game and are beating opponents by an average of 22 points per game in that same span. “Really happy with the momentum we’re building as a unit,” said Ivey.
Freshman guard Hannah Hidalgo once again led the way for the Irish in this one, scoring 35 points on 15-25 shooting. This was not only a new career high for Hidalgo, but this game also broke the single-game scoring record for a freshman in Notre Dame history, a record that stood for over 32 years.
“She’s a great scorer,” said Coach Ivey, “She understands getting to her spots and we just feed off of that.” In a press conference on Wednesday, Ivey was asked about the possibility of putting up 20-25 shots per game and how that would benefit the team. The benefits were evident in this one. However, Hidalgo was doing more than just scoring, as she led the team in both steals (6) and assists (8).
“I feel like a lot of my points were off the pick and roll and Hannah just making a great dime,” said forward Kylee Watson. The 6’4 junior from Linwood, New Jersey also set a career high in points scored, finishing with 19 points on 8-10 shooting. “Once one person gets going it’s kind of contagious throughout the whole team.” Coach Ivey was not only impressed with the scoring from Watson but also her showing in the rebound column.
“It started with Kylee’s energy,” Ivey said, “Just her rebounding, her presence…we went with the energy from Kylee.” Watson finished with 9 boards in the game, the most she’s had since the December 21st matchup against Western Michigan. Not only was she getting it done in the rebounding column, but she finished the game with 2 blocks, marking the eighth time this season Watson has finished with 2+ blocks.
She was asked about the tempo coming into a game like this, on the road, following a big-time win against UConn. “A lot of times these games can be ‘trap games’,” Watson said, “especially when you come off a big one (UConn) like that.”
“This was a really great statement win for us coming off a very charged, highly energetic game versus UConn,” said Notre Dame Head Coach Niele Ivey. This is the sixth win in the last seven games for the Irish, as they now set their sights on Pittsburgh this Sunday in Purcell Pavilion. The Panthers sit at 7-15 (1-8 in ACC play) and have lost eight of their last nine games, including a five-point loss at home to Notre Dame back on January 4th.
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