(Notre Dame) — No Hannah Hidalgo, no problem.

Hidalgo, Notre Dame’s leading scorer, was sidelined for a second straight game with an ankle problem, but it didn’t faze the 3rd-ranked Irish, who rolled past #17 Georgia Tech, 81-66, Thursday night at Purcell Pavilion.

The “old guard” of the Irish carried the day, as Sonia Citron scored 21 and Maddy Westbeld — in her first start of the season — added 20.

Notre Dame exploded out of the gate, scoring the game’s first nine points and building a 13-point lead. But turnovers hurt Niele Ivey’s squad as Georgia Tech whittled the lead down to 39-36 at the half.

When the Yellow Jackets’ Kara Dunn swished a three to start the second half, the game was tied at 39. But the Irish played strong the rest of the third quarter. A five-point spurt by Cass Prosper helped open the lead, before Citron and Westbeld scored the last seven in the stanza to make it 61-50.

Notre Dame was never threatened after that, thanks to 55 percent shooting from the field, including 46% from three-point range.

Prosper added 15 off the bench for the Irish, who raise their overall record to 15-2, with a 6-0 ACC mark. SMU comes to Purcell Pavilion Sunday night for a 6 p.m. tipoff.