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| 1 | 2 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|
 Virginia Tech ((10-10, 0-7)) | 19 | 29 | 48 |
 (2) Notre Dame ((20-0, 7-0)) | 37 | 37 | 74 |
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NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Virginia Tech women’s basketball team fell to No. 2/2 ranked Notre Dame, 74-48, on Thursday evening in ACC action at Purcell Pavilion in Notre Dame, Ind.
“I thought our kids played hard, but I think we can play better basketball than that,” said Head Coach Dennis Wolff. “We have to play better basketball though if we want to win games. We have to avoid letting teams have the type of runs that they had tonight.”
Vanessa Panousis led the Hokies (10-10, 0-7 ACC) with 12 points, while Uju Ugoka chipped in 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
The Hokies and Irish kept it close in the opening minutes of the game as Notre Dame held the slight 9-8 lead after six minutes of play. The Fighting Irish broke open the scoring with a 9-0 run over the next five minutes to go up 17-8 with 9:42 to go.
ND maintained its lead, but the Hokies answered with a 6-2 run to cut it down to 22-18 with just under six minutes to play. That is as close as Tech would get in the opening period as the Irish closed out the half, outscoring Tech 15-1 to take the 37-19 lead in to the break.
Notre Dame continued to control the game in the second half and took its largest lead, up 30 with 10:27 on the clock. The Hokies would get no closer than 24 in the final minutes as the Irish rolled to the win.
Kayla McBride tallied 18 points for the Irish (20-0, 7-0 ACC). Taya Reimer added 15 points and Jewell Loyd notched 14 points. Natalie Achonwa rounded out the double-digit scoring with 10 points. Lindsay Allen grabbed game-high eight rebounds.
Virginia Tech struggled from the field, shooting 27.4 percent on 17-of-62. The Irish connected on 26-of-51, hitting 51 percent for the game. The Fighting Irish held the 41-34 advantage on the boards, but the Hokies had more second chance points, 16-10.
The Hokies will be back on the court on Sunday, Feb. 2 when they host Boston College. Game time is set for 2 p.m. at Cassell Coliseum.
For updates on Virginia Tech women's basketball, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_WBBall
