SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Virginia Tech can tell jewelers what to engrave on a ring.
The Virginia Tech women's basketball team's winning streak ended at 10 on Thursday, but the night wasn't all bad for the fifth-place Hokies.
In a press conference after the 71-58 loss to Notre Dame, Tech coach Kenny Brooks was informed that No. 2 Syracuse lost in overtime to North Carolina State.
And Brooks knew what that meant for the No. 1 Hokies.
“That means you don't have to put a 'co-' on your ring,” Brooks said at a news conference.
Virginia Tech (23-5, 14-3) defeated the University of North Carolina last weekend to earn the top seed in the ACC Tournament and at least a share of the ACC regular season title.
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Tech would have won the title outright had they defeated Notre Dame. But Syracuse's loss on Thursday meant Tech won the outright title anyway.
“Even though we lost the basketball game, the night we won the championship was huge,” Brooks said. “When I got here, Notre Dame was a staple. … You were in awe of their team. … A few years later, we're the regular season champions, Virginia Tech. That says a lot and we accept that. We're proud.
“This makes me feel so good because this is an accomplishment that cannot be taken lightly. I don't care how bad you feel on a night like this. … What's great about this league especially is that we can say that. To be a regular season champion is monumental for our program. …I'll go home with a smile on my face. ”
Syracuse finished the regular season with a record of 13 wins and 5 losses. Tech concludes the regular season at Virginia on Sunday.
This is Tech's first regular-season title since the Hokies won the Atlantic 10 West title in 1998-99. Tech's only other regular season crown came when the Hokies won the Metro Conference regular season title in 1994-95.
But it wasn't enough for Tech to beat No. 17 Notre Dame (22-6, 12-5) on Thursday. The Fighting Irish led until the final three quarters.
“They were very physical with us,” Brooks said. “We didn't answer the bell. I thought we were just playing around all night. They accelerated us to the point where we couldn't really get to what we wanted to get to. I did.”
“Our league is tough to set up. We've played Duke five times since the last time we played Notre Dame.” [in December 2022]. …If we meet again [in the ACC tournament], now the speed, the physicality, and our kids are really good at adjusting when they play someone the second time. ”
Tech center Elizabeth Kitley was held to 12 points, 11 points below average.
“They were very physical. [with her]'' Brooks said. “A lot of times it comes down to who decides the match. They really kicked her out. I thought the physicality was a little bit better than what we've seen lately. … They just called the match. We just played according to the instructions. We didn't adjust very well.”
Kitley was one of just four out of 11 players. The four baskets were the second lowest total this season.
”[It was about] I play physical with her,” Notre Dame forward Maddie Westveld said. It has been successful in the past. …make her girlfriend work for her in everything she does. ”
“We wanted every shot to be a contested shot,” Notre Dame coach Neele Ivey said. “I just wanted the post players to have physical contact with her.”
Kitley's 11 field goal attempts were the second fewest for a center on the season. However, she only played 17 minutes against Long Island when she was given 11 shots. She only played 16 minutes when she took 10 shots against Radford. She played the full 40 minutes Thursday.
”[It was a matter of] “They were aggressive against the guards, making it uncomfortable for the guards to get the ball to Kitley. We had to stop Georgia,” Notre Dame point guard Hannah Hidalgo said. [Amoore] From getting the ball into her. ”
Amour had just two assists. She scored 20 points, but only made 7 of her 24 field goals.
“They were stroking her, pushing her, pushing her away from Mark,” Brooks said. “She just sped up.”
Brooks said the Fighting Irish are flocking to Kitley and Amoore.
“They had great success with our pick-and-roll and rotated and wreaked havoc,” Brooks said.
The Hokies shot just 36.8 percent from the field. This was the team's third-worst field goal percentage of the season.
“We would catch the basketball and they would swipe it down and swipe it down…no effect,” Brooks said. “We didn't put our heads down and go to the basket. … No fouls were called. … They played the way the game was run.”
Hidalgo, the Fighting Irish's freshman star, had 23 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and three steals.
“She's fast, strong and plays without risk,” Brooks said. “She's very destructive.”
Notre Dame had 18 fast break points.
“We wanted to put a lot of pressure on Virginia Tech,” Ivey said. “That was something that was really emphasized, to pick up the pace.”
“We lost them a few times in transition,” Brooks said. “They had some plays where I don’t even know if they would have gone back on defense if the Lakers had been able to stop them.”
