Notre Dame was successful in the Shamrock Classic for the second straight season. This year’s event took place in Washington, and Illinois was the victim this time, 79-68. It also was the Irish’s second straight victory over a Big Ten opponent based in the Land of Lincoln after they beat Northwestern on Wednesday.
The Irish (3-1) never trailed the Illini (2-2), and the outcome never really was in doubt. While the Illini did get within one in the second quarter, the Irish scored nine unanswered points to end the first half. Once the lead grew to double digits in the third quarter, it never went below that. Needless to say, it was a pretty easy game.
[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] and [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] scored 24 points apiece to lead the Irish. Westbeld had a team-high eight rebounds, and Hidalgo finished with eight assists and six steals. [autotag]KK Bransford[/autotag] contributed 11 points off the bench, and six of her seven rebounds were on the offensive end.
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