Virginia Tech battles but falls to No. 3 Notre Dame and start guard Hannah Hidalgo

Going into their ACC contest at Cassell Coliseum Thursday night against third-ranked Notre Dame, the Virginia Tech women's basketball team was looking for a better effort than they got on Sunday night at North Carolina State. For the first 20 minutes, the Hokies went toe-to-toe with the Irish, but in the end, Notre Dame's talent took over for their 18th win this season in 20 games, while improving to 9-0 in the ACC.

Virginia Tech led for most of the first half as after the Irish hit a 3-pointer to begin the game, the Hokies had three 3-pointers and a Matilda Ekh three-point play for an early 12-7 lead. Virginia Tech held the lead for the majority of the first half until Notre Dame took a lead at the end of the half at 28-27. A quick 8-4 run to close the half gave the Irish a 36-32 halftime lead.

In the second half, Notre Dame got the part of the game that makes them so dangerous, getting stops, forcing turnovers, and outscoring Virginia Tech, 25-14, for a 61-46 lead after three quarters.

Notre Dame's guard duo of Hannah Hidalgo and Olivia Miles proved to be too tough at both ends of the floor. They were able to get into the lane and when they didn't finish, they opened shots for teammates. To the Hokies credit, they cut the deficit to 63-53 in the fourth quarter when Ekh drilled a 3-pointer, but a quick 6-0 Irish run sealed the game.

Virginia Tech, which fell to 14-7 overall and 5-5 in the ACC got 17 points, 11 rebounds, and three assists from Carys Baker, 13 from Ekh, and 10 from Rose Micheaux. The Hokies turned the ball over 20 times. Hidalgo finished with a game-high 30 points with 21 of those coming in the second half when she showed why she was the ACC Preseason Player of the Year. Miles had 15 and Liza Karlen had 12 for Notre Dame.

This is the first of three straight games at home for Virginia Tech as they will welcome a talented SMU squad to Blacksburg on Sunday afternoon looking to break a two-game losing streak.