Citron, Westbeld lead No. 10 Notre Dame past Pitt 69-63

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Westbeld, Citron score key buckets in 4th quarter for Notre Dame

Maddy Westbeld and Sonia Citron help power Notre Dame in the fourth quarter vs. Pittsburgh.

Feb 10, 2023, 02:05 am

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- — Sonia Citron scored 20 points, Maddy Westbeld added 17 and Notre Dame beat Pitt 69-63 Thursday night.

Sophomore guard Olivia Miles had a double-double of 11 points and 13 assists to go along with seven rebounds and two steals as the Fighting Irish (19-4, 10-3 ACC) extended their home winning streak against Pitt to 16 games.

Miles dished out seven of her assists in the final period, with just one turnover.

“I’ve gotten so familiar and so comfortable with my teammates around,” Miles said. “I kind of know where they’re going to be, especially when people play zone. I’ve figured out the gaps in where I can throw the ball.”

Senior guard Dayshanette Harris led the Panthers (8-16, 1-12) with a season-high 20 points.

Pitt shot 44% from the field, well above its season average, and made 14 of 16 free throws.

“Every night, we’re going to get everyone’s best game and we’re their Super Bowl,” coach Niele Ivey said. "That’s the expectation. That’s what we inherited being here at Notre Dame. They shot the ball really well. "

TURNING POINT

The Irish shot 36% through the first three quarters and trailed early in the fourth quarter. Notre Dame's shooting struggles included missing 15 of 19 shots from beyond the arc.

Notre Dame bounced back to shoot 69.2% in the final quarter, including two 3-point attempts. The Irish also forced five of Pitt's 11 turnovers in the fourth quarter.

"We found a way to use our defense to fuel us on offense," Miles said.

STAT OF THE NIGHT

The Irish outrebounded the Panthers by a 41-27 margin, including 18 offensive boards. Westbeld led Notre Dame with 10 rebounds, including five off the offensive glass.

Center Lauren Ebo, who is second on the team averaging 7.0 rebounds, missed the game due to a leg injury.

“Not having Ebo, we needed everybody to do a little bit more,” Ivey said. “We talked about that, especially in the rebounding category. Maddy ended up with a double-double, 17 and 10. We needed all those rebounds.”

BIG PICTURE

Panthers: Pitt kept the game close against one of the nation’s top teams. The Panthers, last in the conference, were coming off a 60-51 win over Virginia that snapped a 10-game losing streak.

Fighting Irish: Notre Dame rebounded from a 57-52 home loss to No. 9 Duke on Sunday. The Blue Devils hold a one-game advantage in the loss column over the Irish and Florida State in the ACC. Duke has three remaining conference games against Top 25 opponents, while the Irish have none.

SHE SAID IT

Miles has struggled to remain on the court this season due to foul trouble, including in the loss to Duke. But, she committed just one foul on Thursday.

“Foul trouble has been tough for me this year,” Miles said. “I need to get better, before March especially, but I’m being smarter on defense.”

UP NEXT

Pitt: At Georgia Tech on Sunday.

Notre Dame: Hosts Syracuse on Sunday.

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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP--Top25