Right now in the ACC, it’s Notre Dame women’s basketball and everybody else. In the AP Poll, the Irish sit 11 spots clear of their next-highest in-conference mate at No. 3 in the nation.
Notre Dame (14-2, 5-0 ACC) has already done plenty to set itself apart, beating three top-five teams, outlasting current No. 14 North Carolina on the road and taking care of business against Syracuse, Virginia, Wake Forest and Clemson in league play. This Thursday, the Irish will have another chance to solidify their status with a home matchup against No. 17 Georgia Tech (15-2, 3-2 ACC).
The Yellow Jackets, under sixth-year head coach Nell Fortner, won their first 15 games of the season but have lost their last two to unranked Virginia Tech and Louisville. Meanwhile, Notre Dame carries in a nine-game win streak, extended by Sunday’s 67-58 win at Clemson.
How is Hannah?
Sunday’s question for Notre Dame centered around the team’s ability to perform without superstar Hannah Hidalgo. The sophomore guard rolled her ankle late in last Thursday’s defeat of Wake Forest and the game at Clemson was the first game she has missed during her collegiate career.
Based on how Irish head coach Niele Ivey broke down her staff’s game plan for Hidalgo’s injury, she should have a good chance to return soon, if not against Georgia Tech.
“Just really cautious,” Ivey said after Sunday’s game. “Just being extra careful [and] making sure she gets that proper rest, and then we’ll assess her this week.”
The loss of Hidalgo, the second-best scorer in the country with 25.7 points per game, certainly put a damper on Notre Dame’s offense, but the Irish anticipated that and locked in defensively. Despite matching a season low with 67 points and making an uncharacteristically poor three of 14 three-point attempts, the Irish carved out an important road win in what could have been a moment of vulnerability.
From junior guard Cassandre Prosper making a spot start and blocking three shots to graduate forward Liatu King recording another double-double with 11 fourth-quarter points, Notre Dame’s entire cast of characters took one more responsibility to fuel the win.
“Everybody stepped up and did something well,” Ivey said. “A lot of contributions from the entire team. We were down a body, [so] everybody stepped up and did a little bit more.”
Still, Ivey and company would love nothing more than to see Hidalgo healthy and back on the floor for a top-20 matchup. Last year as a freshman, Hidalgo registered her career high with 35 points against Georgia Tech in Atlanta.
The ever-consistent Liatu King
Though Sunday’s performance without Hidalgo certainly opened some eyes, Liatu King still might be one of the nation’s most underappreciated players. Now 15 games into her first season at Notre Dame, she’s comfortably averaging a double-double with 13.5 points and 11.3 rebounds per contest. When healthy for the entire game, she’s collected 10 or more rebounds in all but one matchup this season, doing it again on Sunday.
“I thought Liatu did a great job [for] the entire game being poised,” Ivey said. “She was tremendous. She’s just getting better and better.”
“You’ve just gotta be ready for whatever the circumstances [are],” King said after the Clemson win. “We’ve just gotta be ready, and that’s what I came in and tried to do today.”
On Tuesday, King became the fifth Irish player this season to receive USBWA National Player of the Week recognition. Heading into Thursday she remains atop the ACC in field goal percentage and ranks fifth nationally in rebounds per game.
Westbeld continues to progress
Now three games into her graduate season after returning from a foot injury, forward Maddy Westbeld has shown steady improvement with each passing day. After going scoreless in her debut two Sundays ago at North Carolina, she totaled 14 points and six rebounds against Wake Forest, hitting a second-chance buzzer beater before halftime.
In Sunday’s win, Westbeld played a season-high 24 minutes, overcoming a slow offensive start to hit a massive three-ball in the fourth quarter and finish the day with eight points.
“Every game, I think she's getting better and better. I think she’s getting more comfortable, just trying to find her spots,” Ivey said. “ She’s been out, so she’s still kind of finding her way with her presence, her body and her movement.”
Far and away Notre Dame’s most experienced homegrown player with 123 career games in blue and gold, Westbeld should see her role increase a step further on Thursday.
A litmus test for Georgia Tech
We’re all about to find out just how well Georgia Tech can hang with the ACC’s and the nation’s best. A national tournament qualifier just three seasons ago and a Sweet Sixteen team the year before that, the Yellow Jackets spent 2022-23 and 2023-24 in a light rebuild, going 11-25 in conference play.
Even during that time, Georgia Tech had two excellent young guards to build around in Tonie Morgan and Kara Dunn. But even as they both finished on the All-ACC Second Team last year, they didn’t have much help. Now, they do.
Dani Carnegie has arrived in Atlanta as one of the top freshman guards in the nation, averaging 15.1 points per game to complement Dunn’s 16 and Morgan’s 13.1. Despite Carnegie’s ability, Fortner has rolled out virtually the same starting lineup for each game since opening night, having the freshman come off the bench. Zoesha Smith, a key addition to the starting five, brings experience as a graduate transfer from Georgia while averaging 7.6 points with 6.4 rebounds per game.
Georgia Tech’s unbeaten start included ranked wins against No. 21 Oregon, No. 14 North Carolina and No. 21 Nebraska. The Yellow Jackets won both the Hawaii North Shore Showcase before Thanksgiving and claimed their SEC/ACC Challenge matchup against Mississippi State. However, they’re now facing adversity for the first time thanks to a 105-94, double-overtime loss to the Hokies last Thursday and a 69-60 setback against the Cardinals on Sunday.
The Yellow Jackets also went without a dynamic player in their Sunday game, as Carnegie sat out for the first time all season with a hamstring injury. The availability of her and Hidalgo come Thursday night will go a long way in determining just what kind of a chance Georgia Tech has against the Irish.
With Carnegie in the mix, we know Georgia Tech’s offense can run with Notre Dame’s. The Yellow Jackets average 82.4 points per game, just 5.4 short of the Irish. The problem for the Ramblin’ Wreck is that they similarly rank just behind Notre Dame in almost every category on both sides of the ball. Only in terms of turnover margin do the Yellow Jackets clear the Irish, but that may not hold up against Notre Dame’s steal-happy defense.
Notre Dame will oppose Georgia Tech at 6 p.m. inside Purcell Pavilion on Thursday.
