Sunday’s showdown against the ACC’s top leading scorers in star junior guards Kymora Johnson and Hannah Hidalgo served as a reminder that sometimes, records are not predetermined endpoints — but temporary benchmarks to be surpassed.
The Cavaliers’ odds were stacked against the Fighting Irish during and even before Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton’s tenure began, for a number of credible reasons — Virginia’s last win against Notre Dame was in 2020, having only won three of their 12 duels before Sunday’s game.
But for the first time since 2021-2022, Notre Dame has failed to maintain its ranked status this season. Sitting at No. 30 in NET, the Fighting Irish have been itching for ACC wins to bump their resume after frustrating results in non-conference play. However, from a statistical standpoint, this game was Virginia’s best chance to break the six-year losing streak at home.
Virginia (17-7, 9-4 ACC) recognized the opportunity and seized it. The Cavaliers were similarly in need of a statement win after a poor road performance at rival Virginia Tech. Agugua-Hamilton’s squad won on both ends Sunday in an 81-70 trouncing against Notre Dame. The Cavaliers played hardball from the jump and never looked back.
“We controlled the game from the tip,” Agugua-Hamilton said. “We had a confidence about us, a togetherness, and just a refuse-to-lose mentality, played to win. I love seeing the maturation of our group.”
Despite a hot start from Notre Dame, which broke through Virginia’s zone with four straight three-point field goals to kick off the game, the Fighting Irish struggled to take care of the ball against the smothering Cavalier paint defense. Midway through the second quarter, Notre Dame suffered five turnovers in under five minutes — a result of Virginia’s extremely productive traps from the zone. The Cavaliers outscored the Fighting Irish 22-13 in the period to lead by eight at the half.
“There's a lot of times that [Virginia] collapsed,” Coach Niele Ivey said. “It was two, three people, and we had to make a quicker decision. And we didn't.”
Towards the end of the third, Virginia exploded offensively. The Cavaliers finished the quarter on five of six made field goals to create their largest lead of the game, 19 points. Johnson’s jumpshots, both within and beyond the arc, headlined the run as a result of extended possessions on five offensive boards. She notched 13 of her 29 points in the period, surpassing 1,500 career points.
Senior guard Paris Clark and junior forward Sa’Myah Smith combined for seven of the 12 Cavalier offensive rebounds. In particular, Clark was relentless from the starting whistle. Recording 15 points, eight rebounds and three steals, the senior guard was everywhere, capping Virginia runs with tough takes down the stretch and deflecting passes to add to its 22 turnover points.
“We just put emphasis on that and just giving ourselves extra possessions,” Clark said. “We all trust our teammates to take open shots, even sometimes contested shots. We know that we'll have their back and just get rebounds.”
Meanwhile, the Fighting Irish sustained a two-minute scoring drought during Virginia’s offensive eruption but still managed to bounce back quickly to start the fourth period, assembling a 5-0 run and eventually cutting the deficit to seven with just over four minutes of play.
However, Virginia was able to fend off the Irish in the final minutes by suppressing Hidalgo’s impact and capitalizing on the stripe. The Cavaliers racked up a crucial 22 points from the free-throw line on 23 Fighting Irish personal fouls in the matchup.
Hidalgo collected 24 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, most notably from her signature bulldozing drives and maximizing her trips to the line. Uncharacteristically, though, the NCAA Division I leader in steals — then-averaging 5.9 per game — was held to only one Sunday, highlighting the Cavaliers’ decision-making and consistent ball protection.
“When [the Irish] were trying to punch gaps in the zone, we were there,” Agugua-Hamilton said. “We were corralling the ball, we were next pass. We got to our shooters when we needed to, in [a] timely fashion.”
A win as momentous as this — especially with the matchup’s history — could not have arrived at a better time for Virginia, especially on a night celebrating the legendary Coach Debbie Ryan and women’s basketball alumni. The Cavaliers head to California for their next two games, road wins pivotal to continuing their season upward, as they hope to break out of the bubble and secure a ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
“We’re in February … So we just got to be focused on the next game and just stacking them,” Agugua-Hamilton said. “We need to be trending in the right direction, and we are.”
Virginia faces California Thursday, Feb. 12, at 10 p.m. on ACCNX and Stanford Sunday, Feb. 15, at 2 p.m. on the CW Network.
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