| GAME 20 | No. 3 Notre Dame (17-2, 8-0) at Virginia Tech (14-6, 5-4) |
|---|---|
| WHEN: | Thursday, Jan. 30 | 6 p.m. |
| WHERE | Cassell Coliseum | Blacksburg, Va. |
| WATCH: | ACC Network Extra |
| LISTEN: | Notre Dame Radio Network |
| SOCIAL: | @NDWBB | #GOIRISH |
BLACKSBURG, Va. — After a win at Boston College last Thursday and the weekend off, No. 3 Notre Dame (17-2, 8-0) heads to Virginia Tech (14-6, 5-4) for the second of three straight away games.
The Irish most recently stifled a hot Eagles offense, defeating BC 89-63 and holding them to a 1-17 showing from the floor to close out the game. Hannah Hidalgo paced Notre Dame with 23 points, while Sonia Citron stuffed the stat sheet once again with 9 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and a block. She led the team in both boards and dimes.
Notre Dame’s “pick your poison” mantra is alive and well through eight ACC games. There are five players in the conference posting at least 15 points, 6 rebounds and a pair of assists per game in ACC play. Three of them play for the Irish (Citron, Hidalgo and Olivia Miles). The other two are Miami’s Haley Cavinder and Stanford’s Nunu Agara.
In total, Notre Dame has a player ranked in the top 10 nationally in four of the five major statistical categories — Hidalgo (points and steals), Miles (assists) and Kate Koval (blocks). As a team, the Irish lead the ACC in rebounds, assists, blocks and steals per game plus field goal percentage, scoring margin and rebounding margin. The Irish offense is posting 87.5 points per game, which ranks second in the conference and fifth nationally. The group also leads the country with a 41.2 success rate from beyond the arc.
The Hokies are led by first year coach and Notre Dame alum Megan Duffy, who played in South Bend from 2002-06. Virginia Tech is coming off an 85-57 loss to No. 20 NC State but brings a balanced offense and young core to the court. Carleigh Wenzel is the team’s leading scorer (14.3 ppg), but four players are averaging 10+ points per contest. Wenzel led the Hokies with 18 points in Raleigh on Sunday. Forward Rose Michaeux is posting a near double-double with 12.4 points and 8.5 boards per game.
Notre Dame is 17-2 all-time against Virginia Tech and has won the last five meetings, including a top-10 clash in December 2022, the last time the Irish visited Cassell Coliseum. Thursday’s game airs on ACCNX and tips off at 6 p.m.