BLACKSBURG – The road team won the first matchup between top-10 women’s basketball teams in Cassel Coliseum history.
Fifth-ranked Notre Dame handed sixth-ranked Virginia Tech its first loss of the season, a 63-52 win over the Hokies on Sunday.
Tech (10-1, 1-1 ACC) scored just four points the rest of the way when the game was tied at 48 with 6:23 left.
“We let him get away a little bit in the fourth quarter,” Tech coach Kenny Brooks said. “After the game, I said to the team: ‘To win games like this, we all have to take responsibility – the coaches, myself, everyone.’ And I think we’re qualified. We didn’t play well in the fourth game.
“We were tired. … We made some plays and came up a little short. I don’t know if it was fatigue, but those are shots we can normally make.”
Brooks only used six players. Ashley Owusu missed her fourth straight game with a broken pinky.
“I had to play more than six,” Brooks said. “I have to trust the bench and go to it more.”
Tech center Elizabeth Keightley made back-to-back layups to tie the game at 48, but the Fighting Irish (9-1, 1-0) went on an 11-0 run to take a 59-48 lead with 49.7 seconds left.
“My message to the team is, ‘Keep fighting. It’s a hostile environment,'” said former hockey player Dara Mabry, who had eight points for Notre Dame. “We’re getting in, so I’m very proud.”
The Hokies missed eight shots during the run, including two that were blocked.
“We actually got some open looks [down the stretch] said Keatley, who had 16 points, 20 rebounds and four blocks.
The game was played in front of 4,206 fans – the largest crowd for a Cassel women’s basketball game since a January 2008 game against Boston College.
“The crowd gave me chills,” said Tech point guard Georgia Amore, who had 20 points.
Notre Dame beat Tech for the fourth straight time and 11th time in the last 12 meetings.
“It was our first test of the year on our opponent’s floor,” Notre Dame coach Niel Ivey said. “I’m really proud to be on this team.”
Notre Dame outscored Tech 23-9 in the fourth as Tech shot 23.1% (4 of 17) from the field.
“They really played with their instincts for the whole game, but definitely in the fourth,” Ivey said. “We showed a lot of strength and a lot of heart.”
“They know our stuff,” Keithley said.
The Hokies shot just 29.4% from the field in the game.
“They made us play on our heels for a good portion of the game,” Brooks said. “We weren’t really in attack mode.”
Amore and Keithley combined for 14 baskets, while the rest of the team combined for just six. Kayanna Traylor was 3-of-12 from the field, Taylor Soule was 2-of-13 and Kayla King was 0-of-5. D’asia Gregg was 1 of 6.
Notre Dame point guard Olivia Miles, who was coming off her third career triple-double, was just 1 of 8 from the field in the first half. But she finished the game with six baskets, 16 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and five steals.
“She’s an incredible player. She thrives in the open court,” Amore said. “We did a good job defensively [on her] When it starts. We just lost our minds in the end.”
Miles started the 11-0 fourth quarter run with a drive to the basket. Sonia Citron (11 points) led by a drive and was fouled and made a free throw. After Mabry made a fast-break layup, Miles drove for another layup. Maddie Westbeld (10 points) scored inside to cap an 11-0 run.
Amore said Tech needs to play better transition defense down the stretch.
Notre Dame shot 60% from the field in the fourth.
“Bottom line, we just have to lock it down [on defense]”We lost ourselves a little bit and let them find the easy stuff,” Keightley said.
Texas graduate transfer Lauren Ibo had 15 points off the bench for Notre Dame. The 6-foot-4 center was 7 of 10 from the field.
The Fighting Irish sank just one 3-pointer but outscored Tech 42-16 in the paint.
“They’re a lot of size,” Keithley said. “They’re very physical … their scoring in the paint was just ridiculous.”
The game ended at 22 in stoppage time. Amore scored 13 points in the third quarter to give Tech a 43-40 lead heading into the fourth. But Amore was just 1 of 6 from the field in the fourth.
“I had to call a timeout and I was really nervous just going over the top of the screens with her,” Evie said. “Every time we get caught [a screen]You enlightened us.”
After making back-to-back layups to tie the game at 48, Keithley didn’t score until 25.6 seconds left.
“They were very physical with her and pushed her off the block,” Brooks said.
