Virginia Tech showed no signs of being out in the cold, starting the game a hot 4-for-5 from three-point range to go up 16-9. Notre Dame weathered the storm, as a Mabrey three at 2:31 ignited a 9-0 scoring run which included an and-one from Miles.
Tied at 18-all to start the second, Notre Dame’s defensive intensity picked up, keeping VT off the board all the way through the 4:28 media timeout. In the meantime, the Irish received baskets from Brunelle, Miles, Citron and Westbeld to go up eight points.
Miles hit a pair of three-pointers in the final 2:20 of the half as the Irish claimed a 34-24 lead at the break. Miles was the lone player in the game in double figures at halftime with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
For the second consecutive quarter, the Irish defense limited the Hokies to two points or less heading into the under-five media timeout, building a lead as large as 14 in the meantime. Citron and Virginia Tech’s Emily Lytle traded back-to-back treys late in the quarter as Notre Dame ultimately took a 48-36 lead into the fourth.
Virginia Tech scored the first five points in the fourth until Peoples got the Irish on the board at 8:01. Fast forward to 5:01 and a nifty behind-the-back pass from Miles led to a momentous Peoples and-one.
Mabrey hit a dagger three in the corner with 3:12 remaining to keep the Irish up by double-digits and that was all she wrote as Notre Dame won its fifth straight.
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