Alicia Ratay – Syndication Server

Top 10 3-point shooters in Notre Dame women’s basketball history

Who has most hit from downtown in Irish history?

Several months back, former Notre Dame guard [autotag]Jackie Young[/autotag] advanced to the finals of the annual WNBA 3-Point Contest. But nobody was going to beat Sabrina Ionescu, whose final-round score of 37 was higher than even the highest score ever recorded in the NBA version of the contest. Almost immediately, many wondered how Ionescu would favor in a shootout with NBA 3-point king Stephen Curry.

This past NBA All-Star Weekend, fans got their wish. It was the highlight of the weekend with Curry needing the final rack to beat Ionescu, 29-26. There are hopes that something like this can continue next year and beyond, especially with women’s basketball increasing in popularity.

While we contemplate the future of women’s basketball and only can guess what it holds, we know who’s helped lay the groundwork for that future. Among them are the top 3-point shooters in Notre Dame history. Since 3-pointers are the latest thing to bring male and female basketball players together, let’s see who rounds out the top 10 for the Irish:

Hannah Hidalgo breaks Notre Dame conference rookie award record

She is just incredible.

For the seventh time this season, Notre Dame’s [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] has been named the ACC’s rookie of the week. This came after two solid games for her against Pittsburgh and North Carolina that the Irish split. She posted averages of 20.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.5 steals a game.

With this honor, Hidalgo now is the Irish’s all-time leader in conference rookie of the week honors. The previous record of six stretched back to the program’s Big East days and was shared by [autotag]Brianna Turner[/autotag], [autotag]Jacqueline Batteast[/autotag], [autotag]Alicia Ratay[/autotag] and current Hidalgo teammate [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag]. Hidalgo needs three more such honors to match the ACC record set by Florida State’s Ta’Niya Latson a season ago.

The Irish are not even halfway through their regular-season schedule, and one only can imagine what else Hidalgo will do as conference play continues. There are many more bars in front of her waiting to be cleared, and it would not be shocking if she cleared all of them or at least the ones that are attainable this season.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Notre Dame’s Sonia Citron is ACC Freshman of the Week for sixth time

This young lady can play some basketball.

Grass is green, water is wet, and Notre Dame’s Sonia Citron is the ACC Freshman of the Week. That’s how routine this honor has become for Citron, who has earned the honor for a program-tying sixth time. Brianna Turner was the last to reach that mark in 2014-15. If you go back to the Irish’s Big East days, it happened to Jacqueline Batteast (2001-02) and Alicia Ratay (1999-2000).

With one more ACC Freshman of the Week honor, Citron would do more than set program history. It would tie the seven times North Carolina’s Janelle Bailey won it during the 2017-18 season.

Citron stood out during the past week as the Irish split games against Miami and third-ranked Louisville. In a win over the Hurricanes, she scored eight of her 15 points in the fourth quarter while also grabbing eight rebounds. As the Irish were losing to the Cardinals, nine of her team-leading 13 points came in the third quarter. She had eight boards in that game, too.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Notre Dame Women’s Basketball: Not Enough to Beat Hoakies

In a trying season like this one, it’s nice to see Notre Dame have moments like it did Thursday against Virginia Tech, even if they’re futile. The Irish (10-17, 5-10) held a 23-9 scoring advantage over the Hokies (20-6, 5-10) in the game’s final six minutes. However, the 20-point deficit the Irish were faced with earlier proved to be too deep of a hole in a 68-62 loss. The game got as close as five points with 11.8 seconds left.

Sam Brunelle scored 18 of her 20 points on a career-high six 3-pointers. Destinee Walker wasn’t far behind with 19 points. But unlike Brunelle, Walker was cold from deep as she missed all five of her 3-point attempts.

This game featured more than a career performance for Brunelle, an ACC Rookie of the Year candidate. The six 3s she made were one short of the program record for most 3-pointers in a game by a freshman. Just over 20 years to the day, Alicia Ratay made 7s against Rutgers.