Miles, Westbeld lead No. 20 Notre Dame women into ACC semis

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) - Olivia Miles had 17 points and 13 assists, Maddy Westbeld also had 17 points and No. 20 Notre Dame defeated No. 25 Georgia Tech 71-53 on Friday in a quarterfinal game of the women's ACC tournament.

Sam Brunelle added 14 points, including four 3-pointers, and Sonia Citron scored 12 points for Notre Dame, which advances to a semifinal matchup against Miami. The Hurricanes defeated second-seeded and No. 4 ranked Louisville on Friday.

Notre Dame (22-7) made four 3-pointers in the third quarter and increased its nine-point halftime lead to 54-43 entering the fourth. Lorela Cubaj, Georgia Tech's first-team All-ACC selection and ACC Defensive Player of the Year, scored consecutive baskets - her only four points of the game - to get the Yellow Jackets (21-10) within 60-53 with 4:21 remaining in the quarter but Georgia Tech would not score again. Notre Dame finished with an 11-0 run on five points from Citron followed by 3-pointers from Miles and Brunelle.

Digna Strautmane led Georgia Tech with 12 points and Eylia Love scored 11. Cubaj finished 2 of 11 from the field but had 11 rebounds and five assists.

Georgia Tech opened the game shooting 6 of 21 from the field and trailed 25-18 midway through the second quarter. Notre Dame was hitting 50% of its shots and got an early boost from Miles with seven points and five assists. Notre Dame went on to lead 34-25 at halftime. MIles finished the half with 10 points and seven assists to go with Westbeld's 10 points and six rebounds.

Notre Dame plays Miami in the semifinals. The Hurricanes defeated second-seeded and fourth-ranked Louisville on Friday.

Notre Dame went 13-5 in the ACC and claimed the No. 3 seed, after being projected to finish in sixth place. The Fighting Irish are hoping to strengthen their resume and land a top-16 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

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