BLACKSBURG, Va. — Notre Dame’s ACC opener was anything but a cakewalk, but the Irish (9-1, 1-0) passed the test.
On a Sunday afternoon in Blacksburg, No. 5 Notre Dame faced No. 6 Virginia Tech (10-1, 1-1) in a battle of the ACC’s top-two teams, at least per the current AP Poll. The Irish came out on top by a score of 63-52.
Nearly 40 percent of Notre Dame’s offensive output came in the final 10 minutes, as the Irish outscored the Hokies 23-9 to add a second top-10 win to their resume before Christmas. The game was tied at 22 at the half, and the Irish were held under 10 points in the first quarter for the first time this year. They didn’t flinch.
“What I loved most about this game today was our toughness, our competitiveness, and the way that we battled and fought a great Virginia Tech team on their home court,” Karen & Kevin Keyes Family Head Coach Niele Ivey said.
Olivia Miles was on triple-double watch once again, as Notre Dame’s All-American point guard had 16 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists. Ten of those points came during the team’s fourth-quarter push.
It was her 40th career game in double-figures. She has played just 48 contests in an Irish uniform.
Just behind Miles was center Lauren Ebo, who posted 15 points in 22 minutes of play. Her performance was part of a dominant paint-point showing; Notre Dame outscored Virginia Tech 42-16 down low.
“The guards were feeding me the ball,” Ebo said with a laugh when what led to her success on Sunday.
On the opposite end of the court, reigning ACC Player of the Week Elizabeth Kitley and star guard Georgia Amoore scored 36 of Virginia Tech’s 52 points. Kitley played a full 40 minutes, and Ebo was tasked with keeping her in-check.
“I think I approach every game [trying] to hold whoever I have to guard below their average,” Ebo said. “I think we did a great job preparing this week. Obviously, she’s a great player, so she’s going to score.”
While Ebo stood out, Notre Dame’s defense as a whole was firing on all cylinders. Outside of a 108-44 win over Merrimack on Dec. 10, 52 points is the fewest Notre Dame has allowed in a game this season and nearly 10 points under their season average entering Sunday (61.4). Both Sonia Citron and Kylee Watson tied their respective career highs with three blocks. Maddy Westbeld — Notre Dame’s block leader entering Sunday – added two more to her season stat sheet as well.
Before a brief Christmas break, Notre Dame has its final non-conference game of the regular season this week. Western Michigan (5-5) heads to South Bend on Wednesday for a noon tipoff on ACCNX. Notre Dame is 9-0 all time against the Broncos.