CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Trailing by as many as 19 points early in the fourth quarter, Notre Dame got within seven with 4 minutes to play but was unable to complete the comeback before falling on the road at Virginia by a final score of 81-70.
The loss drops the Fighting Irish record to 15-9 on the season and 7-6 in ACC play.
Hannah Hidalgo filled up the stat sheet, scoring 24 points while adding eight rebounds and seven assists. Hidalgo’s 24 points moved her into fourth place in program history for career points, passing former standout Katryna Gaither (2,126 points) with 2,132 points.
Iyana Moore recorded 17 points and finished 5-of-10 from three-point range. The grad student also added five rebounds and four assists in the game.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first quarter was a see-saw battle, with the two sides trading baskets and the lead over the course of the opening 10 minutes of action. Moore got the Irish going early, knocking down three early three-pointers, accounting for nine of Notre Dame’s first 12 points.
The Cavaliers held a one-point lead late in the first frame before KK Bransford converted a layup at the rim right before the buzzer went off to give the Irish an 18-17 lead heading into the second quarter.
The hosts scored eight of the first 10 points of the second quarter to go on top 25-20 with just over 7 minutes left in the half. The Virginia lead fluctuated between four and eight points for the rest of the quarter, as it took a 39-31 lead into the halftime break.
Hidalgo led all scorers in the first half, totaling 11 points in 20 minutes of play to go along with six rebounds and five assists.
Virginia scored the first four points of the second half to take its first double-digit lead of the afternoon at 43-31. The Cavaliers continued to grow their lead over the course of the third quarter, as they held a 19-point advantage at 65-46 after the end of the third period.
The Irish locked in on the defensive end to start the fourth quarter, as Virginia missed its first eight shots of the frame. This allowed Notre Dame to go on a 10-0 run over a 4 minute span and cut the lead to seven at 68-61 with 4:17 remaining in regulation.
The hosts responded with five straight of their own to push the lead back to 12 before Moore knocked down her fifth three of the day to make the score 73-64.
The Irish trimmed the UVA lead back down to seven but it was with 14 seconds left in the game and too late to complete a comeback. The Cavaliers knocked down four free throws in the closing moments to come away with an 81-70 victory.
UP NEXT
The Fighting Irish are back at home for a Feb. 15 clash against NC State. The game will air on ESPN at 4 p.m.