Women's Basketball

Fighting Irish Roll Past Hokies to Reach Title Game

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) –  Sonia Citron scored 19 points, Maddy Westbeld added 18, and No. 14 Notre Dame defeated No. 11 Virginia Tech 82-59 on Saturday in the first semifinal of the Ally ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament.
 
The fourth-seeded Irish were 9 of 14 on 3-pointers and shot 52% overall to hand the Hokies, who were without three-time ACC Player of the Year Elizabeth Kitley, the worst loss ever by a top seed in the tournament. Kitley injured a knee in the regular-season finale.

Notre Dame, in the championship game for the first time since 2019, faces the winner of sixth-seeded Florida State and second-seeded and 10th-ranked North Carolina State. The ACC Championship Game will tip off at 1 p.m. on Sunday at the Greensboro Coliseum.

Hannah Hidalgo scored 15 points for the Irish (25-6), who have won seven straight, the last four over ranked Virginia Tech and Louisville. Anna DeWolfe added 14 points, hitting 4 of 5 on 3-pointers.

Georgia Amoore scored 24 points for Virginia Tech (24-7), which shot just 30%. Olivia Summiel had 10 points and a career-high 18 rebounds.

Notre Dame took control by scoring the first 15 points of the third quarter with the 20-0 run spanning halftime producing a 48-23 lead.

Citron started it with a jumper, after scoring the last five of the first half, and had another basket before closing it by converting a three-point play.

Kylee Watson got the lead to 27 with 4 1/2 minutes to go but just a half-minute later left the game with a leg injury and was helped to the locker room. She returned to the bench on crutches.

Amoore did her best to keep Virginia Tech in the game with 11 points but with Hidalgo making the last seven Irish points the lead was 61-40 entering the fourth quarter.

DeWolfe had a pair of 3s in a 12-0 run in the middle of the fourth quarter.

Westbeld scored Notre Dame's first seven points, and the Irish went on to take a 33-23 lead at the half. It was 15-12 after one quarter and then Hidalgo and Citron opened the second quarter with 3s. Watson added two free throws to make it 23-12.

Amoore had six straight points for the Hokies but Citron had a three-point play and a pair of free throws to put the Irish up 10 at the break.

Notre Dame only shot 37% but was 5 of 8 behind the arc. Virginia Tech was 3 of 12 on 3s and shot just 29%. The Irish shot 66% in the second half.

Of Note
- Notre Dame improved to 7-2 in ACC Tournament semifinal games and will seek its sixth ACC title on Sunday. The Fighting Irish are 5-1 all-time in ACC title games. 
- Notre Dame upped its all-time ACC Tournament record to 21-5 and is 18-5 in tournament games played at Greensboro Coliseum.
- The Fighting Irish will carry a seven-game winning streak into Sunday’s championship game. The seven wins since Notre Dame’s 59-43 loss to NC State on Feb. 15 have been by an average of 18 points and include victories over four ranked opponents. Saturday’s 29-point win over Virginia Tech tied for the fifth-largest victory margin in ACC Women’s Tournament history,
- Notre Dame is now 16-3 all-time versus Virginia Tech, 1-0 in the ACC Tournament and 2-0 on a neutral court. The Fighting Irish’s previous neutral court win over the Hokies was a 67-49 decision in the second round of the 2001 Big East Tournament at Storrs, Connecticut.
- Virginia Tech slipped to 13-19 all-time in ACC Tournament play with Saturday’s loss. 
- The Hokies played in the ACC Tournament semifinals for the third consecutive season. Prior to 2022, Virginia Tech had never advanced past the quarterfinal round.