The Irish lose their first ACC game of the season in heart-breaking fashion.
The Notre Dame women’s basketball team went on the road to take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in ACC play… and someone should have reminded them that this game counts in the ACC standings.
No. 18 Irish Fall In OT At Georgia Tech
ATLANTA – The No. 18 Fighting Irish suffered their first defeat in ACC play this season, dropping a 95-90 decision to Georgia Tech in overtime in McCamish Pavilion on New Year’s Day. Notre Dame is now 10-3 on the season and 2-1 in ACC play.
Hannah Hidalgo paced the Irish with 26 points to go along with 10 assists, eight steals and four rebounds. Cassandre Prosper posted her third straight double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Vanessa de Jesus (16), Malaya Cowles (14) and Iyana Moore (11) each finished in double-figure scoring as well.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After the opening 10 minutes of play, the hosts held a narrow lead at 16-14. Hidalgo paced the Irish with five points and remarkably also had five steals in the first frame. The Yellow Jackets shot the ball well in the first, making 6-of-11 shots from the floor.
The hosts clung to their lead at 26-24 with just under 4 minutes left in the half before Notre Dame went on a 12-4 run to go on top 36-30 with 45 seconds left in the period. The Yellow Jackets managed to hit a three on their final possession to make the score 36-33 at the break.
Prosper had a big second quarter for the Irish, scoring eight points while adding five rebounds and two steals in the period to help the Irish reclaim their advantage.
The two sides traded baskets in the early stages of the third quarter before de Jesus went on a personal 8-0 run followed by a three from Iyana Moore to push the Fighting Irish lead to 14 at 51-37, the largest of the afternoon.
Georgia Tech immediately responded with seven straight points to cut the lead in half at 51-44 with just under 4 minutes remaining in the third quarter. The Irish held a six-point lead at 59-53 at the end of the third quarter.
Trailing by eight, the Yellow Jackets scored six straight to make it a one-possession game at 74-72 with 4 minutes left in regulation.
With the score tied at 78-78, Hidalgo knocked down a pull-up jumper to put the Irish in front by two at the 1:13 mark. Unfortunately for Notre Dame, the Yellow Jackets answered with a jumper with 45 seconds left to tie the game and send it to overtime.
Trailing by two early in the extra period, the Irish got back-to-back layups from Prosper and Hidalgo to go on top 85-83 with 3 minutes left. The hosts once again responded, scoring nine straight points to take control of the game at 92-85 before going on to close out the game by a final score of 95-90.
UP NEXT
The Fighting Irish remain on the road, traveling to Durham, North Carolina, to take on Duke at noon ET on Sunday, Jan. 4 in an ACC showdown. The game will air on ACCN.
Category: General Sports
