No. 6 Virginia Tech Women’s Basketball Set To Clash With No. 5 Notre Dame

Cassell Coliseum has hosted some incredible Virginia Tech basketball games in its 60 years.

The men’s team is 10-15 all-time against top-five opponents in the arena, having knocked off No. 1 three times – Memphis (1983), North Carolina (2007) and Duke (2011). The women’s program hosted NCAA tournament games in the arena in 1994, 1999 and 2004, advancing in 1999 before falling to Pat Summitt’s Tennessee.

Yet, history will be made on Sunday when Kenny Brooks & Co., ranked No. 6 in the country, host No. 5 Notre Dame. It’ll be the first top-10 clash on the women’s side in Cassell and just the second in school history. The first came on Feb. 17, 1996 when the No. 10 men hosted John Calipari, Marcus Camby and No. 1 UMass.

For reference, that was 25 days before Will Stewart founded TechSideline on March 12, 1996. Bill Foster was the head coach, and the Hokies finished 23-6 (13-3 A-10) before bowing out of the NCAA Tournament to eventual national champions Kentucky.

This year’s women’s team already broke records when it was ranked No. 7 on Dec. 5, surpassing the 1999 squad’s No. 9 ranking, which was previously the program’s best. But a win on Sunday afternoon (4 p.m. ET, ACC Network) against Notre Dame, a two-time national champion and one of the sport’s bluebloods, would be unforgettable.

The Series

ACC members after being Big East foes, Sunday will mark the 17th all-time meeting between Virginia Tech and Notre Dame. The Hokies are 2-14 with wins in 2003 and 2020, and they’re 1-5 in Blacksburg.

In their last meeting in Cassell in 2021, the Irish took the lead in the second quarter, holding the Hokies to 2-of-12 from the floor, and ran away with it. Aisha Sheppard scored 29 for Tech and Elizabeth Kitley added 15 and 12, one of her 42 double-doubles as a Hokie, but Destiny Walker, Maddy Westbeld, Dara Mabrey and Anaya Peoples combined for 56 points.

Tech did win in Purcell Pavilion in 2020, though. Behind Kitley’s 19 and 10, it beat the Irish for the second time in program history, the first on the road. Mabrey was actually Tech’s second-leading scorer in that game with 11.

Last year’s meeting at Notre Dame was defined by the second quarter. While the Irish were 6-of-14, the Hokies made just two of their 14 field goals, and only Kayana Traylor scored in double figures (16 points). Olivia Miles was tough to guard, scoring 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting.

Virginia Tech is 1-5 all-time against Notre Dame in Cassell Coliseum. In the victory in Blacksburg on Feb. 9, 2003, the program’s only win over ND in Blacksburg, Ieva Kublina led the Hokies with 21 points and seven blocks.

The Irish

Led by third-year head coach Niele Ivey, Notre Dame (8-1) has been almost perfect this season. The team’s one misstep came in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge vs. Maryland after Diamond Miller hit a jumper as time expired.

DIAMOND MILLER WITH THE BUZZER BEATER 🚨

No. 20 Maryland takes down No. 7 Notre Dame in a late thriller 😱 @TerpsWBB pic.twitter.com/nxkrN7NDsL

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 2, 2022

Outside of that, the Irish have been perfect. They made a Sweet 16 appearance last season after tying with the Hokies and North Carolina for third in the ACC with a 13-5 record.

They returned four of their five starters from last season, and their starting lineup hasn’t changed through nine games:

Dara Mabrey (5-7, Gr.): 12.3 ppg
Olivia Miles (5-10, So.): 16.0
Sonia Citron (6-1, So.): 15.4
Maddy Westbeld (6-3, Jr.): 8.9
Kylee Watson (6-4, Jr.): 8.3

Mabrey spent two seasons in Blacksburg from 2018-20, starting 64 games, averaging 11.5 points and shooting 40.9% from behind the arc. But after Georgia Amoore enrolled in the January 2020, Mabrey transferred to Notre Dame where her sisters both played.

This will be the Hokies’ biggest backcourt challenge to date. Amoore’s handled Mabrey well in the past, but Miles went off in last year’s game. She and Citron are two of the most talented players in the conference, and they both rebound the ball well in addition to their scoring. Miles averages 7.8 boards per game while Citron’s at 7.4.

The real question is who will step up for Tech alongside Kitley. Maryland had two scorers – Diamond Miller (31 points) and Shyanne Sellers (17) – in double figures in its win on Dec. 1. In Tech’s last win in the series, it was Mabrey, ironically. But more importantly, the Hokies got contributions from everyone.

Brooks played eight different players. All but one (Cayla King) scored six-plus points, and everyone contributed at least two rebounds. Tech won the battle on the glass by six, 43-37, and turned Notre Dame over 17 times.

Creating Havoc

That’s one of the other major keys to success: create havoc for the Irish. The Hokies have forced 179 miscues this season and have given it away just 126 times themselves. Notre Dame has 140 turnovers to its name this season, 56 from Miles and Citron.

Maryland found success in that area, forcing 18 turnovers; four of the Irish’s five starters – all but Mabrey – had three giveaways. The Hokies are No. 3 in the country in scoring defense at 48.5 points per game, and they’ve leaned on that end of the floor in tight games like Tennessee.

Each of Virginia Tech’s 10 opponents in 2022-23 has mishandled the rock 12-plus times. Here’s a breakdown of the team’s four games against top-100 teams in the NET:

Kentucky: 18 turnovers
Missouri: 12
Nebraska: 12
Tennessee: 16

The Hokies held three of those four programs below 40% shooting, too:

Wildcats: 44.1%
Tigers: 37.5%
Cornhuskers: 33.9%
Volunteers: 33.3%

Though Virginia Tech women’s basketball is 1-25 all-time against top-five teams in Cassell Coliseum, if it plays good defense against Notre Dame, it’ll have a great chance. Moreover, the one top-five victory was in 2021 vs. No. 2 NC State, 83-71 in overtime.

The Hokies proved they could play at that level once under Brooks; in arguably the biggest regular season home game in program history on Sunday, can they rise to that challenge again?