Tag: Anna DeWolfe

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 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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Hidalgo has triple-double in Notre Dame win over Western Michigan

The Irish have one special player.

It’s hard to imagine [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] getting even better as her freshman season goes on. Yet she continues to exceed expectations by building her case as one of the best players in the country, period. She achieved her first career triple-double as Notre Dame demolished Western Michigan, 84-47.

The most danger the Irish (9-1) were in was when the Broncos (5-5) held a 9-4 lead in the first quarter. The Irish completely took over after that and never looked back, outscoring the Broncos in every quarter. Even with only eight players healthy, the Irish clearly were the better team. They held advantages in every statistical category, some of them bigger than others.

Hidalgo’s triple-double consisted of 26 points and career highs in rebounds (11) and assists (10). She also added to her national steals lead by picking up five more. When she checked out in the game’s final minute, she was greeted enthusiastically by her teammates and the Purcell Pavilion crowd.

[autotag]Anna DeWolfe[/autotag] scored most of her 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting from 3-point range. Maddy Westbeld had 15 points and eight rebounds. Also racking up big numbers in the rebounding department were [autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag] (12), [autotag]KK Bransford[/autotag] (nine) and [autotag]Natalija Marshall[/autotag] (eight).

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Niele Ivey, Hannah Hidalgo, Kylee Watson speak after Notre Dame win

Here how the Irish felt after their latest win.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Sometimes, the calendar dictates that you play a solid game. Notre Dame has final exams next week, and the women’s basketball team won’t play again until those exams are finished. That meant it was time to show Lafayette what it could do, even with injuries shortening the number of healthy bodies to eight. A 96-42 victory meant mission accomplished.

[autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] understandably was in an upbeat mood after the win, and she brought in two of her stars to share in her postgame news conference, although there were a few more players who would have been just as worthy of meeting the media afterwards. [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] had what’s become a typical night for her of 26 points and six steals. [autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag] scored 14 points (eight in the third quarter) and had five rebounds.

Numerous topics were discussed in the news conference. In fact, Fighting Irish Wire got to ask the first question after Ivey’s opening statement. Here the answers to that and many of the rest of the questions that were asked:

Notre Dame crushes Lafayette ahead of layoff

Another night at the office for the Irish in nonconference play.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Notre Dame won’t play again until after final exams at the university are completed next week. That meant a strong performance Wednesday against Lafayette was a must. There was no problem with that whatsoever as the Irish cruised to a wire-to-wire 96-42 victory in which each of their dressed players scored.

While the Irish (7-1) played well in the first half, it wasn’t enough to completely fend off the Leopards (4-5). Although a loss was unlikely even at that point, it still would have been for the Irish take a stranglehold on the game. They did just that in the third quarter, clamping down on defense and outscoring the Leopards, 28-8. Even with the fourth quarter merely a formality on this night, they continued to lay down the hammer and had a 30-11 scoring advantage.

By the time it was over, the Leopards had a whole bunch of goose eggs, if not slightly better, on their side of the stats sheet. The Irish did not allow any field goals off turnovers, fast breaks or second chances. Most impressively, they didn’t let the Leopards get to the free-throw line until the fourth quarter.

[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] had another huge game with 26 points and padded her national steals lead with six takeaways. [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] achieved a double-double of 17 points and 19 rebounds. [autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag] scored 14, and [autotag]Anna DeWolfe[/autotag] had 10 points to go with three of her own steals.

[autotag]Natalija Marshall[/autotag] came off the bench to score 12 and grab eight boards as well as lead the Irish with six assists.

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Notre Dame wins home opener vs. Northwestern, but Citron is injured

A blowout win that could prove costly.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Almost everything went right for Notre Dame in its home opener against Northwestern. It feel into an early hole but quickly climbed back out of it. And while the Irish surely are happy with a dominant 110-52 victory, they’re more concerned about the fate of one of their stars.

The Irish (2-1) fell behind the Wildcats (2-1), 8-0, in the game’s first couple of minutes, prompting [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] to call an early timeout. They came out of that timeout looking like a different team, scoring the next 15 points unanswered.

The Irish held an eight-point lead after the first quarter, then put any doubts about the outcome away when they outscored the Wildcats, 32-10, in the second.

The win might have come at a hefty cost though. [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] had a game-high 23 points late in the third when she suddenly went down with a knee injury. The Irish players and coaches huddled to say a prayer for their teammate, and one could hear a pin drop inside Purcell Pavilion.

Citron was able to walk back to the locker room but needed help in doing so. There is no word on her condition as of this writing.

The entire Irish starting lineup finished in double figures. [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] continued her hot start to the season with 21 points and six steals. [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] completed a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.

[autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag] scored 10 to go with a career-high four blocks, and [autotag]Anna DeWolfe[/autotag] also had 10 points along with a game-high six assists.

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Notre Dame adds transfer guard Anna DeWolfe from Fordham

The Irish get a big scorer.

Notre Dame has made its first addition via the transfer portal of the offseason. That addition is former Fordham guard [autotag]Anna DeWolfe[/autotag]. DeWolfe will play out her college eligibility with the Irish after four seasons with the Rams. She’ll be a big scoring addition, too.

DeWolfe 1,883 points at Fordham rank eighth all-time in the Atlantic 10. She was the conference player of the year in 2021 and has been on the past three all-conference first teams. During her collegiate career, she has averaged 17.0 points a game, which ranks ninth in conference history. She led the conference in scoring in 2021 (20.8) and was second in 2022 (17.8) and 2023 (18.4).

DeWolfe is no stranger to Notre Dame. Her first collegiate game in November 2019 was a 60-55 Irish win in which she scored 10 points in 37 minutes. The Irish beat the Rams again, 71-56 , two Novembers later. DeWolfe also scored 10 points in that game but shot 4 of 17 from the field.

The Irish have a talented roster already, but they always could use some reinforcements. This is a big one. The only question is how well her game will translate against tougher competition in the ACC.

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