How Notre Dame WBB has another chance to prove its worth
Notre Dame has been put to the test already this season. Encouraging results in back to back games against then-No. 20 Maryland and then-No. 3 UConn were indicative of what head coach Niele Ivey has in her Fighting Irish this season.
Notre Dame was competitive in both matchups, falling 74-72 to the Terrapins and beating the Huskies 74-60. Support of strong crowds in South Bend helped a ton. Purcell Pavilion was sold out for the UConn game — 9,149 strong.
Sunday will be a different story.
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Notre Dame has played one true road game so far this season. The Irish beat Northwestern, 92-58, in Evanston, Ill., on Nov. 16. The Wildcats are 5-5, and there were only 1,176 in attendance on that Wednesday night one month ago. There should be several more on hand to take in the No. 6 Virginia Tech Hokies’ (10-0) home game against the No. 5 Irish (8-1) at 4 p.m. ET Sunday (ACC Network).
“It’s going to be a great test to see where we are with our resilience on the road,” Ivey said. “It’s going to be very different. We’re in their environment, their atmosphere. I know they’re going to pack that arena. To be able to continue to play our way when things don’t go our way, that’s the hardest part. Staying within what we’re doing, playing hard for 40 minutes in an incredible environment, that’s something we haven’t seen this year. That’s going to be something we’ll learn while we’re down there.”
This is new for Virginia Tech, too. The Hokies are out to a hot start, but they’ve yet to beat a ranked opponent. The Irish are by far the best team they’ve faced to this point. They’ve beaten unranked foes the way a top-10 team should, though. Virginia Tech boasts the fifth-best scoring margin in the country at 30.9 points in the positive direction per game. Notre Dame ranks ninth nationally at 26.8 points per game.
Senior center Elizabeth Kitley is averaging 19.0 points and 11.2 rebounds per game. Five other Hokies are averaging in double figures in scoring. Virginia Tech went 23-10 and earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament last season, but the Hokies were upset in the first round by No. 12 seed Florida Gulf Coast. This is a redemption season of sorts for Tech, and beating the fifth-ranked Irish would go a long way in signaling the Hokies are for real.
“Their entire team is solid,” Ivey said. “They are really complete.”
No. 5 Notre Dame (8-1, 1-0 ACC) vs. No. 6 Virginia Tech (10-0, 1-0)
When: Sunday, Dec. 18 at 4:00 p.m. ET
Where: Cassell Coliseum
TV: ACC Network
Last meeting: Notre Dame won, 68-55, in South Bend, Ind., on Feb. 3, 2022
Series history: Notre Dame leads 14-2
Leading scorers:
• Notre Dame: Sophomore point guard Olivia Miles (16.0 ppg), sophomore guard Sonia Citron (15.4 ppg)
• Georgia: Center Elizabeth Kitley (19.0 ppg), Kayana Traylor (12.2ppg)
