| GAME 11 | NOTRE DAME AT VIRGINIA TECH |
|---|---|
| WHEN: | SUNDAY, DEC. 18 | 4 PM E.T. |
| WHERE: | BLACKSBURG, VA | CASSELL COLISEUM |
| WATCH: | ACCN |
| LISTEN: | NOTRE DAME RADIO NETWORK | CLICK HERE |
| NOTES: | ND NOTES |
| SOCIAL: | @NDWBB | #GOIRISH |
| TICKETS: | Buy Tickets |
BLACKSBURG, Va. — It’s a battle of the best offense in the ACC and the best defense in the ACC. Something has to give.
Karen & Kevin Keyes Family Head Coach Niele Ivey would prefer her team to add to its win streak, as the No. 5 Irish (8-1) head to No. 6 Virginia Tech (10-0, 1-0) for a top-10 clash on Sunday. It will serve as Notre Dame’s ACC opener, while the Hokies have already seen Boston College this year.
Notre Dame’s most recent appearance on the basketball court yielded a 64-point win over Merrimack, which ranked as the 10th-largest margin of victory in program history. The Irish shot 55 percent on the day and had seven players in double figures.
Virginia Tech is unlikely to let that happen. Led by Preseason ACC Player of the Year and most recent ACC Player of the Week Elizabeth Kitley, the Hokies are allowing just 48.5 points per game and coming off of an 86-48 win over UNC Asheville. A 6-6 Kitley is shooting .525 on the year, which is sixth in the ACC and just behind Notre Dame’s Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron (.526). The Virginia Tech center is averaging 19.0 points per game, which is currently third in the conference.
Hokies head coach Kenny Brooks will be without Kitley’s partner in crime, Ashley Owusu, however. The guard is out indefinitely after undergoing surgery to repair a broken pinkie. Owusu is a Maryland transfer and last year’s winner of the Ann Meyers Drysdale award for the nation’s best shooting guard. Kayana Traylor, Georgia Amoore and Cayla King will be tasked with picking up some slack. The three guards are posting 12.2, 12.1 and 11.2 points per contest, respectively.
While Virginia Tech has played a few formidable opponents over the first six weeks of the season, they have yet to face an offense quite like Notre Dame’s. The Irish are averaging 88.2 points every time they take the floor.
Ivey’s squad is headed up by Miles, who posted a program record third career triple-double on Saturday. She’s Notre Dame’s leading scorer (16.0 per game) and rebounder (7.8 per game), and she leads the ACC with 7.2 assists per contest.
If it’s not Miles’ night, Notre Dame has options; in addition to Miles, six other Irish women are averaging more than 8.0 points per game. Transfers and bigs Kylee Watson and Lauren Ebo have been very effective down low, combining for 19.5 points per contest. It’s worth noting that Ebo is performing at a high level off the bench; she has yet to make a start. Her 27 offensive rebounds on the year rank 10th in the nation among bench players and give Notre Dame numerous second-chance-point options.
The Virginia Tech game will also be a trip to familiar territory for Dara Mabrey, who played her first two years of college basketball in Blacksburg. Over her five-year collegiate career, Mabrey has hit 292 three-pointers, which ranks fifth overall among active Division I players.
Notre Dame is 14-2 all-time against Virginia Tech, including a 5-1 mark on the road. The Irish have won the last four meetings.