Notre Dame women's basketball defeated top-seeded Virginia Tech 82-53 on Saturday afternoon in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship game. However, the Irish national team faces further injury concerns, with starting junior center Kyrie Watson out injured.
With 3:59 left in the third quarter, Watson crouched on the floor on a drive for the bucket. She immediately grabbed her by the left knee and let out a scream of pain.
At the time, ND was leading 52-25, and Watson had a strong game with eight points and five rebounds.
After being helped to the locker room, he returned to the bench area on crutches during the fourth quarter.
more:Notre Dame forward Kyrie Watson injured in ACC Tournament semifinals
Watson, who appeared in all 31 games this season as a starter, averaged 6.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and a team-leading 1.4 blocks.
The Irish's 29-point victory was the largest margin of victory over a No. 1 seed in ACC Tournament history.
No. 4 seed Notre Dame (25-6) will face No. 2 seed North Carolina State (26-5) in Saturday's semifinals on Sunday at 1 p.m. (ESPN) and No. 6 seed Florida. They will face the winner of State University (23-9).
Three more takeaways from ND's win over the Hokies.
more:Notre Dame women's basketball wins Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinals
Four Irish players with strong passing skills are in double digits
Sonia Citron led the way with 19 points with seven rebounds and three steals.
Maddie Westveld added 18 points and three blocked shots. Hannah Hidalgo had 15 points, six assists and six rebounds. Anna DeWolf had 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, made four 3-pointers and had five assists.
ND had 19 assists as a team and only had eight turnovers.
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The Hokies can't stay on this team without Elizabeth Kitley.
The three-time ACC Player of the Year missed the tournament after sustaining a foot injury in the team's final regular-season game last week.
Fellow All-League first-teamer Georgia Amoore scored 24 points, but needed 29 tries from the field to get there, scoring 11 points with two triples.
Olivia Sumiel had 18 rebounds and scored 10 points for No. 11 Tech (24-7).
World No. 14 Ireland defeats ranked team for fourth consecutive tournament
This is the first time this has happened since ND won its last four en route to the national title in 2018.
These four wins include two wins each against the Hokies and Louisville.
The Irish extend their overall winning streak to seven and could earn an overall top-16 seed in the NCAA Tournament and an early-round berth.
