Notre Dame snap seven game skid in 74-66 win over Virginia Tech

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Irish earned their first win since Jan. 9th, led by freshman guard Markus Burton setting a season high six steals.

It wasn't an ideal start for the Irish, having to answer to the Hokies hot start from beyond the arc, going five for six in the opening minutes.

Notre Dame fought adversity in the first half. It's all thanks to every player that stepped on the court. Each of the nine players in the rotation made it into the scoring column, which is huge, considering the Irish haven't been the best offensively.

The Irish had three players in double-digits. Markus Burton (16), Braeden Shrewsberry (12, four for six from the three-point line), and Kebba Njie (11).

It's no surprise that Burton was the leading scorer. It's been his role this season, as their main source of offense. But lately Burton's been tasked with stepping up his intensity of defense and getting his teammates involved offensively. 

The Mishawaka native didn't shy away tonight, earning six of the team's eight steals. While adding eight of the team's 14 assists.

"They had music playing and they were cheering, and they were happy. I mean, they deserve it, man," Micah Shrewsberry said in response to if he could sense how proud his team was. 

"They deserve every bit of it. Every bit of it. This team has shown resiliency, we keep showing up and playing every day. But it was awesome to see," Micah Shrewsberry added.

The fans were a huge part of the win, sticking with Irish during the tough stretch of losing every game since Jan. 9th.

"Us showing up every single day, busting our butts and practice getting yelled at by coach Shrews, working hard every single day just to get this just to get to win feeling. I feel like today, we showed the fans that we kept fighting, and we were still here," Burton said.