Notre Dame beat Virginia Tech 82-53 Saturday afternoon to make it back to the ACC championship game for the first time since 2019. Just nine days after the 71-58 victory at home against then-No. 5 Virginia Tech, the Irish dominated the Hokies from the second quarter forward, holding them to a season-low in first-half scoring. The Hokies were without three-time ACC Player of the Year Elizabeth Kitley, who is averaging 22.8 points and 11.4 rebounds per game, but still struggled to find consistent offense outside of senior guard Georgia Amoore who led with 24 points.
The Irish finished with four players scoring at least 14 points, led by junior guard Sonia Citron with 19, and earned one of their most impressive victories of the season. This marks the seventh win in a row for the Irish, as they begin to catch fire at the right time.
Despite being the fourth seed, Notre Dame entered the tournament in a favorable position to win. The Irish struggled to close their first ACC Tournament game against Louisville, who surprisingly hung with them throughout a 71-58 game that wasn't close early.
This game, however, would showcase a completely different Notre Dame team. Senior forward Maddy Westbeld, who had 18 points in Saturday's game, continued to lead the charge. Westbeld scored the first seven Irish points of the game, setting the tone early offensively.
Notre Dame ended the first quarter leading by only three points, 15-12, but the second quarter forward would tell a different story. After an Amoore jumper with 2:44 left in the first half cut the Irish lead to 28-23, Notre Dame shut out Virginia Tech throughout the remainder of the second quarter. The Irish led 33-23 at the break, with their defensive performance holding the Hokies to their season-low in first-half points in.
Then, to open the second half, Notre Dame would continue its belligerent scoring to build to a 20-0 run over six-plus minutes of basketball.
“They are giving us the looks we want, and we are knocking down the shots we want right now," Westbeld said at halftime.
That would continue to be the theme over the rest of the game as the Irish led 61-40 after the third quarter and won 82-53. One of Notre Dame's most impressive wins this season came through the demolition of the highest-seeded team in the ACC.
However, the Irish lost senior center Kylee Watson to injury along the way. Needing assistance, she left the game with four minutes to play in the third quarter after posting eight points and five rebounds.
The Irish have once again been dominant on defense lately. They have won the turnover battle in all seven games during their current win streak, dramatically improving their post defense. The Irish demonstrated once again that the defense can keep them in close games and build momentum for the offensive side.
Citron has also impressively stepped up her scoring game for the Irish in the last four contests, averaging 20.8 points. The Irish have found ways to take the scoring pressure off of freshman guard Hannah Hidalgo, allowing her to be a pest on the defensive end.
Notre Dame can match up extremely well with the top teams in college basketball and is finding a rhythm at the most important part of the season. The Irish will take on 10th-ranked NC State, the No. 2 seed in the ACC, for the conference title on Sunday at 1 p.m.
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