The Virginia Cavaliers women’s basketball team took a beating in South Bend, Indiana, on Sunday afternoon, falling to the No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 95-54.
UVA jumped out to an early 9-5 lead, but a lengthy field goal drought in the first half gave way to a 28-0 Fighting Irish run from which the ’Hoos could never recover.
With the loss, the Cavaliers fall to 8-6 overall and 0-2 in ACC play. They’ll be back in action on Thursday evening at home against Wake Forest inside John Paul Jones Arena.
Here are three takeaways from Sunday’s disappointing result:
Virginia’s defense was undisciplined
After experimenting with a 3-2 zone defense for stretches early this season, UVA fully committed to it on Sunday against Notre Dame. The ’Hoos came out in their 3-2 zone look with forward Latasha Lattimore at the top of the key from the opening tip and stuck with it for most of the afternoon.
With the Fighting Irish’s elite athleticism, it made sense not to try to match up man-to-man, but Virginia’s zone lacked the discipline necessary to shut down a flame-throwing Notre Dame squad.
The ’Hoos were caught ball watching far too often, leaving shooters wide open off passes into the post (Notre Dame knocked down 10-of-26 attempts from beyond the arc), and their rotations seemed a step slow throughout the game.
When Virginia did try its hand with a man defense, Notre Dame quickly put its speed on display, beating the ’Hoos in transition and going to work on the offensive glass.
Overall, the Fighting Irish’s 95 points matched Oklahoma’s November 9th output for the most by a Virginia opponent this season. Notre Dame also managed to post its second-highest offensive efficiency score of the season (128.7 via barttorvik), shooting 51.4% from the field against an overwhelmed UVA squad.
Notre Dame is on a different level
Notre Dame entered Sunday’s matchup ranked third in the country with marquee wins over USC, Texas, and UConn already under its belt. With sophomore sensation Hannah Hidalgo at the helm, the Fighting Irish have legit national championship aspirations this season.
So, no one was expecting the ’Hoos to come away with a win on the road against one of the nation’s premiere programs. But the level to which Virginia was outclassed on Sunday is a reminder of how far this program has yet to climb.
Virginia is now 0-6 against teams ranked in the top-100 (via barttorvik) and hasn’t come within 41 points in its two matchups against ranked opponents this season.
The ’Hoos are a young, inexperienced squad and a plethora of injuries has made it difficult for this team to gel so far this season, but Coach Mox was certainly hoping that UVA would be further along than they are at this point in the season.
Time to bounce back in the new year
While it was far from an ideal ending to the year, Sunday mercifully marked Virginia’s final game of 2024, and the ’Hoos have a perfect opportunity to start the new year on the right foot come Thursday when Wake Forest makes the trip to Charlottesville.
The Demon Deacons rate as a bottom-two team in the conference so far this season and have missteps against George Mason and Fairfield already on their resume. On its home floor, Virginia needs to flush Sunday’s result and get its first conference win under its belt.
To do so, the ’Hoos will have to start shooting better from distance in the new year. Virginia was 5-for-21 (23.8%) from long range against Notre Dame, dipping its season numbers below 30%.
