Category: Women’s Basketball

Notre Dame has Citron again but not Westbeld in loss to North Carolina

A lost weekend for Notre Dame basketball.

Notre Dame’s [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] returned to the starting lineup against North Carolina after missing nine games with a knee sprain. However, her return was canceled out by the absence of [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag], who was being evaluated for a concussion after being injured in the Irish’s last game at Pittsburgh. With the Irish down to six rotational players, they lost to the Tar Heels, 61-57, who won their first game in South Bend in six tries.

Except for most of the third quarter in which the Irish led by as much as seven, the Tar Heels showed from the beginning that they were the better team during this particular evening at Purcell Pavilion. They made more plays when it really mattered and took advantage of having more available depth. While neither team shot well, the Heels held the advantage there (38.7% from the field for them and 31.1% for the Irish), and that made the big difference.

After tying the game at 55 with 3:41 left on a pair of Citron free throws, the Irish didn’t score again until the outcome already was decided. They still had a chance with time running out and trailing by only three, but [autotag]Anna DeWolfe[/autotag]’s layup attempt was blocked by Maria Gakdeng, forcing the Irish to foul Deja Kelly.

Even when Kelly missed both free throws, Gakdeng got the offensive rebound, and the ball got to Indya Nivar, who was fouled and split her ensuing two free throws for the last of her team-leading 16 points, putting the Heels up four. [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] was fouled on the subsequent possession and missed two free throws. Lexi Donarski then finished the Irish off with two free throws of her own, bringing her total to 13 points.

The Irish wasted 18 points from Citron and a double-double from Hidalgo (17 points, 11 rebounds). [autotag]KK Bransford[/autotag] scored 12 points.

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Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo has stats line no other recent player had

She’s raising the bar higher all the time.

It’s clear by now that Notre Dame has a special player in freshman [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag]. As the season goes on, we’re learning more and more about just how special she is. In fact, she might even be a generational player.

Shortly after the Irish finished off Pittsburgh in a tough game, OptaSTATS tweeted out something that had to blow away even Hidalgo’s biggest supporters:

Think about all of the prominent college and professional basketball players we have seen over the past quarter of a century. It arguably is the era with the most talent the sport has ever seen. In spite of that, nobody at basketball’s highest levels in this country has done what Hidalgo is doing until now. Absolutely incredible.

Through this early stretch of her collegiate career, Hidalgo is averaging 24.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 5.8 steals a game. She is the nation’s leader in steals and third in the country in scoring. Everyone should be watching to see how long she can keep this clip up.

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Notre Dame guts out tough victory against Pittsburgh

The Irish needed everything to win this game.

Notre Dame starting its ACC schedule 0-2 really would have thrown the season off the rails. For a while, it looked like Pittsburgh might actually inflict that pain upon an Irish team ravaged by injuries. However, the Irish made sure that didn’t happen and emerged victorious over the Panthers, 71-66.

The Irish (10-2, 1-1) jumped out to a 26-6 lead in the first quarter and scored the game’s first 12 points. But the points stopped coming so frequently, and the Panthers (6-9, 0-2), led by Liatu King’s career-high 34 points and 13 rebounds, outscored the Irish, 36-19, in the second and third quarters. It did not help that in the latter of those quarters, [autotag]Natalija Marshall[/autotag] fouled out, and [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag]’s lip was badly cut, forcing her to the bench with 17 points and six rebounds.

The fourth quarter proved to be [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag]’s time. She matched her first-quarter total of 11 points after being held to single basket in between, bringing her total scoring output to 24. She and the rest of her remaining teammates turned what had become a three-point deficit into an eight-point lead with 1:48 left. The Irish held serve from there to escape the Steel City with the win.

Also helping Hidalgo was [autotag]Anna DeWolfe[/autotag], who scored most of her 11 points on three 3-pointers. That total was one off Hidalgo’s four 3s.

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Notre Dame’s Risch out for season; still no updates on Miles, Citron

Tough break for the freshman.

There’s a lot of excitement surrounding [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag], who just won her sixth ACC Rookie of the Week award. That means it’s easy to forget that Notre Dame has another freshman guard. However, [autotag]Emma Risch[/autotag]’s season already is over.

Risch, who hasn’t played since Nov. 29 at Tennessee, has been sidelined for the season because of upcoming hip surgery according to [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag]. However, she is expected to retain her entire college eligibility:

Between Risch’s news and no updates on [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] or [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] either, it really raises the question on how much longer the Irish can survive having a shorthanded roster. The New Year’s Eve loss at Syracuse that began ACC play had to be a sobering experience for everybody, and one has to wonder if that game would have played out differently with a healthier group.

Risch’s season ends having averaged 4.6 points and 3.1 rebounds over seven games. Her best game was a 16-point, five-rebound outing Nov. 21 against Chicago State. Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery for her.

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Watch: ESPN interview with Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey

The Irish are lucky to have her.

[autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] is in her fourth season as Notre Dame’s women’s basketball coach, and she’s done pretty well. After going 10-10 in her first season, she led the Irish to back-to-back Sweet 16s. This year, she has the Irish off to a 9-2 start. All of this and more is covered in this new interview with the ESPN-owned Andscape:

This is about as complete an interview with Ivey as you’ll see anywhere. Touching on her playing days, coaching career, her key players and her son Jaden, she comes across as someone who means everything she says and doesn’t need to show off for the cameras. The fact that the interview ends with her at the Grotto speaks volumes about her.

While the interview doesn’t go overboard on the details, it leaves you feeling like you really know Ivey. You could have this conversation with her off the record and come away just as satisfied. One only can imagine what she’ll do as her coaching career goes on.

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Women’s basketball national scoring leaders as of Dec. 31 (and steals)

Check out where Notre Dame’s freshman phenom ranks.

[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] clearly is Notre Dame’s best player as we enter 2024. There’s no other way to put it given that she leads the country in steals and is one of its top scorers. One only can imagine what she’ll do over the next couple of months. For now, here’s how she ranks among the top scorers in the country along with their steals figures:

ACC women’s basketball leaders as of Dec. 31

Guess who’s leading and representing Notre Dame?

We would like to wish you and your a Happy New Year. We continue to explore new ways to make this site a wonderful place to visit, and we can’t wait to share them with you. The fact that you keep coming back here motivates us to do better.

Here are the ACC’s major statistical leaders as we begin 2024:

Notre Dame falters in ACC opener against Syracuse

Not the start to conference play the Irish wanted.

Notre Dame is on a mission to prove it’s the class of the ACC. However, Syracuse had other ideas in Sunday’s conference opener at the JMA Wireless Dome.

The Orange showed from the opening tip that they were not going to be bullied by the Irish, who stayed in the game throughout. The valiant effort was not enough as the Irish lost, 86-81, ending their nine-game winning streak.

A game that featured 10 ties and 10 lead changes was as back-and-forth as one might expect through the first three quarters. The Irish (9-2, 0-1) took a four-point lead into the fourth, but the Orange (11-1, 1-0) held them scoreless through the first four minutes of that quarter and took a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

While the Irish were within two with two minutes to go, Dyaisha Fair showed off her specialty by hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the deficit to eight. Fair would go on to make five throws in the final minute to help ice the game for the Orange.

Fair scored 14 of her 27 points and picked up three of her six steals in the fourth quarter. Alyssa Latham recorded a double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds and also had three steals before fouling out. Georgia Woolley had 10 points to overcome eight turnovers.

Despite the Orange often giving her a taste of her own medicine, [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] still had a career-high 32 points along with seven steals and six assists. [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] scored 16 points, and [autotag]Anna DeWolfe[/autotag] added 15.

The Irish were outrebounded, 45-33, which contributed to 18 second-chance points for the Orange. That factored into the final score as much as anything else.

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Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo sweeps weekly awards

What a player.

[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] continues to make people wonder who she is exactly. Only time will tell, but the early returns are extremely promising. It’s become typical to expect her to win ACC Rookie of the Week almost weekly, but she now is taking that a couple of steps further.

In addition to grabbing the rookie honors for the past week, she was named the ACC Player of the Week, but that wasn’t all. For the first time in her career, she also is the AP National Player of the Week. That’s as good as a freshman can be in the ACC.

Hidalgo played only one game during the past week, but it was a good one. She achieved her first career triple-double against Western Michigan with 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists to go with five steals. No triple-double in Irish history has been higher scoring, and only one other true freshman has had a triple-double at all.

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Women’s basketball national scoring leaders as of Dec. 24 (and steals)

See where Hannah Hidalgo ranks.

Notre Dame got an early Christmas present this year in freshman phenom [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag]. She not only is the national steals leader, but she’s among the top scorers in the country. At this point, one only can imagine what her Irish legacy will be by the time she’s through in South Bend. In the meantime, here’s how she ranks among those scoring leaders and how their steals averages compare with hers: