The Virginia women’s basketball team traveled to Notre Dame, Ind. on Sunday where they fell to the No. 7 Fighting Irish (16-2, 7-1 ACC) 76-54.
This marks the second-consecutive loss for the Cavaliers (14-6, 3-6 ACC), and their sixth in the past eight games. The schedule has not been kind to Virginia as of late — the bout with Notre Dame marked the Cavaliers’ third road game against a top-10 opponent since the calendar flipped to 2023. Virginia also fell to then-No. 9 Virginia Tech Jan. 5 and then-10 NC State Jan. 8.
Things got out of hand early on for the Cavaliers, who were without graduate forward Sam Brunelle in the contest after a suspension. Notre Dame capitalized on a six-minute Virginia scoring drought to build a 18-4 lead. But a jumper by senior forward Camryn Taylor followed by a three-pointer by freshman guard Cady Pauley to close out the first quarter cut the Fighting Irish lead to nine.
The Cavaliers continued trimming the lead to begin the second quarter, getting as close as 22-15 after junior guard Yonta Vaughn’s deep three-pointer with 6:19 to go in the half. A flurry of Notre Dame three-pointers heading into the half stymied the comeback, however, as the Fighting Irish took a twelve-point lead into the break.
Notre Dame continued to build on their lead coming out of halftime. A quick 10-2 run for the Fighting Irish extended the lead to 20, and after trading baskets for the rest of the quarter, Virginia went into the fourth quarter trailing 64-42.
With the game in hand, Notre Dame was able to coast through the final quarter, sealing their 22-point victory.
Taylor, who led the team with 13 points, was the only player in double-figures for the Cavaliers. Virginia struggled from the field against the Fighting Irish — shooting just 29.6 percent — and even more so from beyond the arc (3-15).
“It’s hard losing games back-to-back, but I thought, for part of the game, our kids fought,” head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton said. “But credit to Notre Dame. They have a phenomenal team.”
The Cavaliers will look to bounce back Thursday on the road against Syracuse. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. with coverage on ACC Network Extra.
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