Notre Dame Holds Off Virginia Tech For Third Straight Win
It’s only January, but Notre Dame already is in March Madness survive-and-advance mode after recording its third straight ACC victory on Thursday night with a 65-60 victory at Virginia Tech.
Now 8-5 overall and 6-3 in the conference, the Fighting Irish built a 46-25 advantage before avoiding another epic collapse similar to the one at Boston College Jan. 7 when it squandered a 60-48 lead with 2:41 left in a 64-61 defeat.
Trailing 61-58, Virginia Tech had a chance to tie the game in the closing minute but a missed three-pointer by Aisha Sheppard (29 points while going 5 of 20 beyond the arc) and a steal by senior center Mikki Vaughn set up two free throws by junior guard and Virginia Tech transfer Dara Mabrey with 8.1 seconds remaining.
Two more free throws by Mabrey iced the 65-60 outcome.
Sixth-year senior guard Destinee Walker tallied a team-high 16 points while Mabrey added 14. Freshman Maddy Westbeld recorded her first career double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, and sophomore Anaya Peoples also reached double figures with 11 points.
Head coach Niele Ivey’s squad sputtered out of the gate and nearly ran out of gas at the finish line, but in between was dominant. Notre Dame has played 52 quarters of basketball this season, but none was quite as commanding on both ends of the quarter than the second at Virginia Tech (7-6 overall, 2-6 in the ACC).
The Hokies held a 16-9 advantage at the end of the first quarter following a first 10 minutes by the Irish that saw them shoot 4 of 19 (22.2 percent) from the field and commit six turnovers.
Notre Dame responded with a 9-0 run to begin the second quarter to take an 18-16 lead, and never trailed thereafter. It also finished the quarter with a 10-1 run and outscored the Hokies 27-9 in those 10 minutes while converting 11 of 19 field goals (57.9 percent).
Propelling the outstanding performance in that span was Walker. She tallied 10 straight points (with two threes) to break the game’s last two ties at 18-18 and 21-21, and 13 of the next 15 Notre Dame points overall (with another trey) that extended the advantage to 33-24. She then added a steal that resulted in a Mabrey bucket that provided the Irish a 36-25 cushion at the intermission.
With a 10-0 spurt to open the second half, the 46-25 advantage marked only the second time this season Notre Dame was up by at least 20 points. In all, it was a 22-4 run over a span of 8:10.
Refusing to fold, Virginia Tech responded with an 8-0 run before Westbeld ended the drought with a three. The Hokies gradually whittled away at the lead before Vaughn’s steal and Mabrey’s free throws sealed the outcome.
Three-Point Play
1. Ebbs And Flows
The game at Blacksburg was a microcosm of this season for the Irish. The first and fourth quarters saw them hit dry spells where motion on offense was a rumor and turnovers rampant. And then in the second and third, there were stretches where they often beautifully flowed and looked like a viable NCAA Tournament team.
We felt that by late January is when it would begin to jell with rotations, assimilation and familiarity. For the most part it appears on schedule, but the standing around during stretches on offense still remain a bugaboo.
2. Best Of Five
The Irish have elevated to fourth in the 13-team ACC race this year (Duke and Virginia have canceled their seasons) — behind No. 1-ranked Louisville (12-0), No. 2 North Carolina State (10-0) and No. 23 Syracuse (6-1).
That trio will all be played during a five-game road stretch through Feb. 15, but a visit to North Carolina (7-5 overall, 2-5 ACC) this Sunday at noon comes first. Get through this road show 2-3 and an NCAA Tournament bid could still be in sight. A 3-2 mark would be a remarkable feat for where the program is now while attempting to continue its ascent back amongst the superpowers.
3. Live By The Three …
Notre Dame is the nation’s most improved three-point shooting team — thanks in part to the addition of Mabrey — but the beauty is it doesn’t live and die by it the way Virginia Tech did by going 9 of 39 (23.1 percent). The Irish were a more efficient 7 of 18 (38.9 percent) while having much better inside-outside balance.
Last year, the Irish finished 317th out of 348 Division I teams in three-point percentage (27.1). This year, they rank 14th at 38.7 (72 of 186) with Mabrey among the top 30 individually at 25 of 54 (46.3 percent).
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