Notre Dame Drops ACC Opener To Georgia Tech

Notre Dame fell to 2-3 on the season after dropping its first conference game of the season, as Georgia Tech (4-1) came into South Bend and earned an 82-67 victory.

Notre Dame used an early 14-4 run to take an 18-15 lead to end the first quarter. The Irish continued to lead for much of quarter two, and a triple from junior guard Dara Mabrey put the Irish up 33-27.

That was it for the Irish in the first half, as Georgia Tech turned four Notre Dame turnovers into an 8-0 run to close out the half, putting the Jackets up 35-33.

Georgia Tech’s run continued into quarter three, as it scored the first seven points to extend its run to 15-0. Notre Dame would never recover and Georgia Tech controlled the remainder of the second half. Notre Dame never got closer than six points the remainder of the game.

The Yellow Jackets had five scorers in double figures, but junior guard Lotta-Maj Lahtinen led the way with 19 points. She went 4-6 from deep and was part of a strong performance from behind the arc for the Jackets, who finished 10-19 from deep. Lahtinen also dished out eight assists and had three steals.

Standout forward Lorela Cubaj had a double-double, scoring 16 points and grabbing 13 boards. She also blocked three shots.

Notre Dame shot well in the first half, knocking down half (12-14) of their field goal attempts and 5-of-7 from deep. The second half didn’t go as well, as Notre Dame turned it over eight times and went just 12-31 from the field.

Freshman forward Maddy Westbeld led Notre Dame with 21 points and nine rebounds. She went 6-13 from the field and all 21 of her points came in the second half. Mabrey scored 11 points and was the only other Notre Dame player in double figures. Westbeld and Mabrey went 10-20 from the field, while the rest of the Irish lineup went just 14-35.

Notre Dame welcomed back veteran post player Mikayla Vaughn, who played in her first game of the season. Vaughn had seven points and six rebounds in 25 minutes of action, but she also had four fouls.

The Irish get back to action on Thursday, Dec. 17 when they host Virginia Tech.

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