SOUTH BEND — “Everything” was the signature word for Notre Dame women's basketball during Thursday night's emphatic 71-58 victory over No. 5 Virginia Tech at Purcell Pavilion.
That includes freshman Hannah Hidalgo once again becoming an all-rounder. It was a relative rarity for the Irish to play all-man-to-man, and coach Neale Ivey called the players' effort “the most solid defense I've seen from them all season.” . Sonia Citron put all 21 of her points into the second half. Hokie coach Kenny Brooks also seems to have praise for ND.
In terms of the stakes ahead, it's all very simple. If the No. 17 Irish (22-6, 12-5) defeat visiting No. 22 Louisville (23-7, 12-5) on Sunday at 2 p.m. In the final game of the regular season, they earned a coveted top-four seed and a double bye into next week's Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. If they don't win, they likely won't be able to get the seeding, and if No. 12 host North Carolina State University (24-5, 12-5) defeats Wake Forest University (6-23, 2-15), it's a sure bet. You won't be able to get it. .
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Louisville will similarly face Purcell in exactly the same situation as ND.
“It's just an incredible win,” Ivey said of his team's fourth straight win since going 8-5 and looking like they had a slim chance of making it to the top four. “I'm very proud of this group. I have a lot of respect for Virginia Tech. It's clearly a Final Four team (actually last season, this season as many expected). We were tightly (locked in) right from the start of the game. It was a great performance.”
The Hokies (23-5, 14-3) had their winning streak stopped at 10, but ironically, North Carolina State's win over Syracuse (23-6, 13) shortly after that ended their winning streak in history. It was their first complete league victory. 5) also achieved top-four status.
Hidalgo, on his way to becoming the all-time leading freshman scorer in ACC history, led all players with 23 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and three steals in all but 42 seconds of play. She just finished last year as the league's leading scorer with 663 points on the season, surpassing Florida State's Tanya Latson's 659 points.
Citron added 21 points in the second half, and Maddie Westbelt played the full 40 minutes and had 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Senior guard Georgia Amoore was Tech's 20-point pace, but was only 7-of-24 from the field with two 3-pointers.
Graduate center Elizabeth Kitley, a two-time ACC Player of the Year, was held to 12 points, 11.3 below her average, mainly by Westbelt and Kylie Watson's defense. She added nine rebounds and four blocks in 40 minutes, but she was only 4-of-11 from the field.
more:Will she go or stay? Maddie Westveld considers future with Notre Dame
After an eight-point lead swap in the first quarter, the Irish led the rest of the way.
The difference was as high as 14 points in the second and third quarters, but the Hokies got within 46-42 late in the third period and were within 59-54 with 3:36 left in the fourth period. However, in the end, ND gained the upper hand. .
Fully one-on-one and physical
Ivey said he thought about mixing the zone, an Irish staple, but never did it.
“I'm very proud of the way this team is able to play man-to-man throughout the game,” Ivey said, adding that the Hokies' 3-point shooting talent was a factor in favor of that approach. “…We were going to fall into the trap as well, (but) I felt like just having personal pride and playing man-to-man defense would work better during this period, and I feel like that's working well. So I left it as is.''
Ivey cited his club's “amazing” defensive rotation, the outpouring of guards up top and the big size against the 6-foot-6 Kitley.
“She's a great player,” Westveld said of Kitley. “(But) our scouting for her was really strategic. Obviously you have to play against the player of the year. I think we were just playing physically with her. We've done that in the past. It's been successful in the past, so we just have to keep the same tone and let her work on everything.”
Do you control the factors?
Coach Brooks has referenced ND's harsh approach multiple times since then, hinting that there is probably at least some problem with officiating, but at least two other ACC coaches have been fined in recent weeks. Perhaps he acted cautiously in response.
“They were very physical,” Brooks said of the Irish. “A lot of times it comes down to who calls the game, but a lot of times they really left (the game) alone. I think the physicality is a little bit better than what we've seen recently. I thought, and you give (Notre Dame) credit. They just played with the flow of the game and we didn't adjust very well.”
Brooks added. “They were very aggressive from the beginning. When we caught the basketball, they were swiping, swiping, swiping down, without any repercussions. We put our heads down and got to the basket. We didn't go for it, we didn't get any fouls called, so give them credit. They were playing the way the game was played and we weren't.”
Brooks on Notre Dame's Big 3
Tech's coach suggested that it might be faster to count ND players who were not selected to McDonald's All-Americans in high school than those who were, but three of them said kind words.
It started with Hidalgo.
“She plays very hard, she's fast, she's strong and she's not afraid to take risks,” Brooks said of the player who leads the nation in stolen bases with 4.8. “She's very disruptive and makes (Notre Dame) different. … She's a great player. She's going downhill.
“I think we fouled her 11 times,” Brooks said, referring to Hidalgo's free throw attempts, repeating “11” once more to form an air quote. It will affect tonight's game. ”
The Hokie boss was not surprised by Citron's monster second half and even saluted Westbelt.
“Citron has been one of my favorite players in the league for a long time,” Brooks said. “I don't think she's ever faltered. She's just been playing at an even keel, and she played very well tonight (and) waist belting, she made some shots where she sat on her hips. …It seemed like Westbelt and Citron were taking that shot all night. Every time we got close to attacking range, they hit a big shot and put us a little out of reach. We pushed them away. We were down, but they were great players.”
irish items
ND has improved to 4-3 against top 10 teams over the past two years, and is 2-2 this season. … West Belt moved its head coach out of the program's top 20 in career scoring, moving to No. 19. She is currently in 1,444th place with Sheila McMillen in 20th place with her 1,439th place and Ivy in 21st place with her 1,430th place. …Olympian, WNBA star and former Irish national team player Jewell Lloyd was among those in attendance. …Rebounds were not only one of the more one-sided statistics of the game, but they also went the way of an astonishing 43 for ND compared to 29 for the Hokies. Tech ranked first in the ACC in rebound margin with a plus-8.8 average, while the Irish ranked ninth in the league with a minus-0.1 rebound margin.
more:How Hannah Hidalgo is gaining attention in the Notre Dame women's basketball world
17th Notre Dame 71, 5th Virginia Tech 58
Virginia Tech (23-5): Zumiel 1-1 0-0 3, Kitley 4-11 4-4 12, Amoor 7-24 4-5 20, Eku 5-12 0-0 12, King 2-6 0 – 0 6, Baker 1-2 0-0 3, Strack 1-1 0-0 2, Wenzel 0-0 0-0 0, Total 21-57 8-9 58
Notre Dame (22-6): Watson 0-2 0-0 0, Westbelt 8-16 1-1 19, Citron 9-15 2-2 21, DeWolf 1-5 0-0 2, Hidalgo 8-19 6- 11 23, Marshall 1-1 2-2 4, Bransford 1-4 0-0 2, Total 28-62 11-16 71
| Virginia Tech | 16 | 12 | 19 | 11 | — | 58 |
| notre dame cathedral | 17 | 19 | 17 | 18 | — | 71 |
3-point goals—Virginia Tech 8-20 (Zumiel 1-1, Amoor 2-7, Ek 2-4, King 2-6, Baker 1-2), Notre Dame 4-12 (West Belt 2-4, Citron 1) -3, DeWolf 0-1, Hidalgo 1-4). Assists – Virginia Tech 11 (Ek 3, Kitley 3), Notre Dame 15 (Hidalgo 6). Fouled out—Virginia Tech King. Rebounds—Virginia Tech 29 (Kitley 9), Notre Dame 43 (Hidalgo 12). Total fouls – Virginia Tech 17, Notre Dame 10. Technical Foul – None. A—6,416.
