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Tech falls to No. 7/8 Notre Dame, 76-59
Magarity records 12th double-double of the season
February 2, 2017
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 (7) Notre Dame (21-3, 9-1) | 19 | 15 | 27 | 15 | 76 |
 Virginia Tech (16-6, 3-6) | 11 | 18 | 17 | 13 | 59 |
| |||||
BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech women’s basketball team trailed No. 7/8 Notre Dame by only five at the half, but the Irish used a big third quarter en route to a 76-59 win on Thursday night in an ACC clash at Cassell Coliseum.
Chanette Hicks led the Hokies (16-6, 3-6 ACC) with 14 points, seven assists and three steals which moved her into fifth place on the Virginia Tech career steals list. Regan Magarity added 13 points and 10 rebounds for her 12th double-double of the season. Sidney Cook and Vanessa Panousis tallied nine and eight points, respectively.
“I thought we came out with good energy,” said head coach Kenny Brooks. “We didn’t always play smart in the first half, but I thought we played hard which allowed us to overcome a lot of our mistakes and as a result we were in the game and down by five at halftime. In the third quarter we just didn’t make some of the plays we needed in order to change the momentum.”
Tech got out on the Irish, hitting three quick baskets and forcing Notre Dame into four early turnovers to take a 7-3 lead in the first three minutes. The Hokies maintained the advantage and were on top 9-8 midway through, but Notre Dame outscored Tech 11-2 to take a 19-11 lead at the end of the quarter.
The Irish pushed it to their largest lead of the half, going up 25-13 after a 6-0 run early in the second. Tech kept Notre Dame from growing the advantage as the Hokies trailed 32-21 with four minutes on the clock. The Hokies closed out the half on an 8-2 run, sparked by a pair of 3-pointers from Panousis and Kendyl Brooks, cutting it to a five-point game at the break.
Notre Dame opened the third with an 11-2 run to go up by 14. Tech cut it down to 11 several times over the next few minutes and trailed by as many with 3:45 to go after a Magarity 3-pointer. ND again answered and took a 61-43 lead in the final seconds of the frame. The Hokies looked to make a run, cutting it back down to an 11-point game early in the fourth, but that is as close as Tech would get as Notre Dame closed out for the win.
Arike Ogunbowale led the Irish (21-3, 9-1 ACC) with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Marina Mabrey and Brianna Turner added 13 points each. Lindsay Allen handed out nine assists.
Notre Dame shot 54.1 percent from the field while the Hokies connected on 35.4 percent. Tech had seven long-range shots to ND’s five. The Irish held a 40-30 advantage on the boards and tallied 42 points in the paint to the Hokies’ 20.
Virginia Tech will be back on the court Sunday, Feb. 5 at Georgia Tech. Game time is set for 2 p.m. at McCamish Pavilion.
For updates on Virginia Tech women's basketball, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_WBBall
