In desperate need of a bounce-back win after opening the ACC campaign with a disappointing effort in an 82-67 loss at home to Georgia Tech, Notre Dame responded with a gritty rally against 6-0 Virginia Tech with an 84-78 victory on Thursday night at Purcell Pavilion.
The Irish are now 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the ACC, while the Hokies also are 1-1 in league play. Head coach Niele Ivey’s squad had to rally twice when it appeared Virginia Tech was about to apply a knockout punch.
Trailing 30-19, Notre Dame closed the first half with a 20-5 run to take a 43-38 lead into the halftime locker room, easily playing their best quarter of the year on both ends of the floor, with junior Abby Prohaska and freshman Alasia Hayes supplying strong energy off the bench.
Then after back-to-back threes by Virginia Tech sharpshooter Georgia Amoore put the Hokies ahead 70-64, and following a bucket by 6-5 star Elizabeth Kitley that gave them the lead again at 75-73 with 2:27 remaining, strong defense and patient offense enabled Notre Dame to finish with an 11-3 run.
Freshman Maddy Westbeld tied it at 75 with a move inside, and then sophomore guard Anaya Peoples had back-to-back aggressive drives to the hoop that provided a 79-75 cushion, followed by two free throws from Dara Mabrey and one from Katlyn Gilbert that pushed the advantage to 82-75 during a 9-0 spurt.
Westbeld paced the Irish with 23 points while adding six rebounds, and Peoples had 15 points, a team high eight rebounds and three assists.
However, our player of the game was sophomore forward Sam Brunelle, who is working back into a rhythm after knee and foot injuries shelved her much of the preseason.
Off the bench she provided 17 points, converting 5 of 9 from three-point range, highlighted by an especially crucial one to pull the Irish within 70-67. She also grabbed four rebounds and supplied sound post defense — with a lot of help around her — on Kitley.
During Notre Dame’s 20-5 run in the second quarter, Brunelle scored eight points, twice converting beyond the arc. Notre Dame then closed the fourth quarter with a 20-8 run.
"We had a really tough loss on Sunday, and our focus this week was to change our defensive mentality — just pride effort we talked about," Ivey stated. “To see it translate to a game, I’m so proud of this group.”
THREE-POINT PLAY
1. Relief, Joy & Toughness
This was exactly the type of win a team that is trying to find itself needed. In the opener the Irish squandered a 77-70 lead late in a loss to a veteran Ohio team, and against Georgia Tech it was jolted while out of sync on both ends of the floor. Falling behind 30-19 versus Virginia Tech, it had the makings of a wipeout, and an 0-2 hole in the league would have been disheartening.
But with some timely substitutions and strong, timely team help-defense in the paint, the squad began to find itself on both ends of the floor. The sheer joy at the end to gut out the win against an NCAA Tournament-caliber team such as the Hokies should provide a morale boost.
2. The 'A Team': Abby & Alasia
Ivey found a rotation that might be a keeper. Sparking Notre Dame’s outstanding second quarter were Prohaska and Hayes — specifically with their defensive intensity (including 10 turnovers by Tech in those 10 minutes) and fearlessness.
Prohaska’s instincts and Hayes’ quickness provided instant energy all around. Prohaska (four points, three rebounds, two steals, one assist) is the model glue player who takes the charges, sets the needed screens for the shooters and makes the right pass or basketball play. Hayes supplied eight points and three assists in just 12:46 of action. Prohaska in 20:07 had the highest plus-minus score on the team with a plus-11, while Hayes was second at plus-7 in her stint.
They were in the lineup during that second-quarter blitzkrieg with three potent scorers, inside or outside, in Westbeld, Brunelle and Peoples to balance the lineup.
Prohaska, Hayes and Vaughn are the ideal complementary figures to a team that has a good supply of shooters/scorers in former McDonald’s All-Americans Westbeld, Brunelle, Peoples and Gilbert, plus Mabrey.
That’s what team chemistry is: knowing everyone’s role, trusting it and playing to it. Which brings us to…
3. What’s Her Destiny?
While building a team chemistry, there are also tough decisions that need to be made by the coaches. In this case, it might be phasing out sixth-year senior guard Destinee Walker, last year’s leading scorer. She did not play the entire second half against Georgia Tech on Sunday, and was not inserted against Virginia Tech, even though she was dressed for the contest. It is not injury related.
Too many lineup changes or trying to find various combinations can be detrimental to team flow. Once a staff finds a rhythmic rotation or combination, disrupting it by playing too many people can be counter-productivel. It will be important for Walker to be a good teammate and still mentally prepared, because one never knows if her number might be called down the road.
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