Notre Dame Pulls Away For A Huge 63-52 Victory over No. 6 Virginia Tech - Sports Illustrated

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Notre Dame (9-1) went on the road to kick off the ACC season and the Irish earned a huge victory, using a dominant fourth quarter to pull away from No. 6 Virginia Tech (10-1). The Irish outscored Virginia Tech 23-9 in the fourth quarter to pull away with a 63-52 victory.

Notre Dame's road win over Virginia Tech means the Irish have now scored a pair of Top 10 wins in the month of December, and both came by double figures. Notre Dame also beat then No. 3 UConn 74-60 back on December 4th.

The first half was a combination of quality defense from both teams mixed in with missing open shots and turnovers. For Notre Dame that included three charges on the offensive end of the court.

Notre Dame struggled out of the gate, hitting just three of its first 16 shots as Virginia Tech led 16-9 at the end of the first quarter thanks to a 7-2 run down the stretch.

The Irish chipped away in the second half due mainly to its defense. Notre Dame extended its defense well and limited the opportunities at the basket for the Hokies. Notre Dame held Virginia Tech to just six second quarter points, and the shots finally started to fall as the Irish finished the half on a 9-2 run.

Notre Dame star guards Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron struggled on the offensive end in the first two quarters, combining to go just 2-12 from the floor. They did combine for nine rebounds, four steals and three blocks. A key to Notre Dame's comeback was the post play of Lauren Ebo, who scored seven points in the first two quarters.

Quarter three was a completely different story, as the offenses heated up. Virginia Tech outscored Notre Dame 21-18 in the third while knocking down half of their shots (8-16), including 4-6 from behind the arc after going just 2-15 from deep in the first two quarters.

Guard Georgia Amoore was on fire during the period, scoring 13 points while hitting just 5-7 shots, and 3-4 from deep.

Ebo continued to keep the Irish in the game, scoring six more points in the third quarter. Notre Dame also shot better in the third quarter, hitting 8-17 shots.

It was the Notre Dame offense that caught fire in the final quarter, hitting six of their first seven shots to take a 52-48 lead. Ebo and Maddy Westbeld got things starter, but star guard Olivia Miles finally heated up, scoring six straight points and then hitting a cutting Citron, who scored and drew a foul.

Citron made the free throw out of the break, and Virginia Tech's cold fourth quarter shooting continued as as Amoore air balled a shot from the corner. Miles picked it up, sprinted down the court and hit Dara Mabrey, who knocked down the short turnaround to make it a 55-48 game, forcing a Virginia Tech timeout.

Virginia Tech had no answers from there on out as Miles took the game over in the final quarter. She either scored (10 points), dished out assists (2) or ended Virginia Tech possessions with a rebound (5), blocked shot (1) or a steal (1). Miles came into the fourth quarter shooting just 2-11, but she went 4-6 from the field in the money quarter.

Notre Dame outscored Virginia Tech

Notre Dame went 17-32 from the field in the final two quarters, but the defense stepping up in the fourth quarter was a key to the Irish putting the game away in the final 10 minutes. Virginia Tech went just 3-14 from the floor in the final quarter.

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After turning the ball over nine times in the first half the Irish did a much better job in the final two, turning it over just twice while forcing seven Hokie miscues.

Miles finished with 16 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals. Ebo was excellent off the bench, scoring 15 points on 7-10 shooting to go with 5 rebounds. Citron (11 points) and Westbeld (10 points) also scored in double figures. Westbeld also hauled in 9 rebounds.

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