#1 Hokies Fall Apart Against #4 Notre Dame 82-53 in ACC Tourney (3-9-24)

By: Joey Raymond

All Photo Credit: ACC Photos

Greensboro, NC —With Liz Kitley being officially ruled out for the entire ACC tournament, Virginia Tech will have to learn what life is like without her. With Kitley being out, Notre Dame is the heavy favorite for this game. The Irish have the “big three” players, spearheaded by freshman Hannah Hidalgo. She along with Sonya Citron has led the Irish to where they are now. The last time these two teams met, the Irish put a beat down on the Hokies, winning 71-58. The Hokies will need more players to step up in this game, unlike the last game against Miami. Georgia Amoore accounted for a huge chunk of Virginia Tech’s offense in that game. The Irish will likely attack Amoore and look to shoot from a distance to spread out Virginia Tech’s defense.

First Quarter Recap:

​Early on, the pressure on Georgia Amoore is heavy. As predicted, The Irish are going to try to shut her down and have the other players on the Hokies beat them. Notre Dame would be the first team to score, scoring a layup to get the scoring started. Notre Dame would look like the better team early, leading by 7 at one point in the first period. The Hokies wouldn’t look like lame ducks forever though, crawling back inch by inch in the first, finishing the quarter only down by 3. Regardless, Notre Dame would still look like the better team early, truly dictating the pace. Virginia Tech fought the entire quarter, but they looked tired and lost for a majority of the early part of the quarter. By the end of the quarter, the Irish had shot 35% from the field, while the Hokies shot 23% from the field.

Second Quarter Recap:

​The Irish would come out on fire early, firing 2 three-pointers and stretching the lead early to 21-12. The Hokies would continue to miss shot after shot, shooting only 21% with about 7 minutes left to go. Three minutes would pass and the struggles would continue for the Hokies as the Irish continued to stretch the lead. They would still have no baskets, with the score at 12-23. It wouldn’t be until 5 minutes left to play that the Hokies would get some points on the board. After that shot the Hokies would catch momentum, going on a 7-0 run, and bringing the score back to 25-21. Notre Dame would finish the quarter with a strong response, however, changing the pace a bit and bringing their lead back to 10. The quarter would finish with the Irish leading the Hokies, 23-33.

Third Quarter Recap:

​Notre Dame would again come out strong, starting to separate themselves early in the second half, stretching the lead out to 23-39. The Irish are showing why they’re predicted to win the whole tournament. They would eventually get the lead up to 20 points, really putting it on the Hokies. The Hokies wouldn’t be doing much to help themselves though, turning the ball over and over again, allowing the Irish to go on a 20-0 run. Virginia Tech would look like an absolute shell of themselves in this second half. Georgia Amoore would eventually break the run, but it’s looking like too little too late for the Hokies. The Hokies would eventually switch to a zone defense which would help a bit, but the Irish would switch things up and slow things down and try to milk that clock. The clock would hit all zeros in the third quarter with the Irish leading the Hokies, 61-40.

Fourth Quarter Recap:

​The Hokies would look to crawl their way back into this game in this fourth quarter. Knocking the score from a 27-point lead down to a 15-point lead. Unfortunately for the Hokies, the Irish would stand up strong and not make it easy. They’d stop the Hokies’ run, and ultimately stop the Hokies from scoring for over three minutes, missing 9 straight shots. That’s something that the Hokies could not afford being down as much as they were. With five minutes left to go the Irish would lead 71-46. The clock not being on the side of Virginia Tech, would allow Notre Dame to slow things way down and continue to work the clock. The Irish would also help themselves a lot by scoring on seemingly every possession. The rest of the game would be all Notre Dame, as the Hokies would disappear on offense. With just under two minutes left in the period, the Irish would be up 32 points. They’d finish the game with that lead, winning 53-82 and sealing their way into the championship game.