Tag: Hannah Hidalgo

Notre Dame player honored by USBWA for fifth time in six weeks

Yes, the Irish are that good.

(This story has been updated to include additional information.)

At this rate, it will be shocking if the USBWA isn’t honoring a Notre Dame player almost every week for the rest of the season. The Irish have been that good.

[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] was one of five players to earn weekly national honors by the organization for the week ending Dec. 15. She previously earned them for the week ending Nov. 24.

Through six weeks of the season, Notre Dame has had one of its players honored by the USBWA every week except for one. [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] and [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] have earned national honors once, and [autotag]Kate Koval[/autotag] was honored as the nation’s top freshman once. The only thing the Irish haven’t won is the weekly team honor, but it would not be surprising if they did so before season’s end.

This hardly is a surprise given that Hidalgo already was named the ACC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for this past week. She also was the AP national player of the week. What probably stood out the most among voters was finishing two assists shy of a triple-double against UConn:

You know more awards will be coming for her very soon.

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Notre Dame women’s basketball star is ACC Player of the Week again

She is so good.

Winning ACC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week is becoming the norm for Notre Dame star [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag]. After wins during the past week over UConn and Eastern Michigan in which she excelled, she won the honor for the second this season and an Irish record sixth time overall.

After nearly achieving a triple-double of 29 points, which included six 3-pointers, 10 rebounds and eight assists against the Huskies, she was equally productive against the Eagles with 27 points and tying her season high with six steals. The latter game highlighted her specialties on both ends of the floor.

All of this and more added up to averages of 28.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 4.5 steals for the two games. She’s a big reason the Irish climbed five spots to third in the latest AP Top 25 Poll, and it would not be surprising to seem them climb higher before this season is over.

For the latest Hidalgo highlights, here they are against the Eagles:

That’s a typical game for her, folks. Get familiar with her if you haven’t already.

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Notre Dame women’s basketball cruises to record-setting win against Eastern Michigan

Notre Dame flew by the Eagles with ease.

The Notre Dame women’s basketball team had a bit of a slow start on offense against the Easter Michigan Eagles.

Fortunately for the Fighting Irish (9-2, 1-0), so did the Eagles (1-6). Notre Dame did finally settle in with its second basket with 7:18 left in the first quarter — and once the shots started falling, they never stopped. The Irish would have a 15-0 run before EMU finally got a point. Notre Dame would go on to win 118-49.

The Irish rocketed out to a 33-9 lead and essentially had the game in hand once the buzzer sounded to mark the end of the first quarter. Notre Dame would lead 61-20 at halftime.

Not that there was any real doubt, even in the first few minutes when the score was 2-0 in favor of the Irish. Even as the Irish’s first few shots didn’t fall, it was clear Notre Dame was in command of the game — unless the Eagles got on an early run, the Irish would be fine.

Of course, it was Notre Dame that then had the early run. And the mid-game run. And the late run.

The Irish crossed the century mark with more than six minutes remaining in the game. Eastern Michigan had yet to reach 40 points, and the Eagles of course finished with just 49.

Notre Dame set a team record with 17 made three-point shots during the contest — breaking the old record of 15. The Irish scored the fifth-most points in team history.

Fighting Irish guard [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] led all scorers with 27 points while fellow guard [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] had 17 and forward [autotag]Liatu King[/autotag] had 15. Guard [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] was also in double figures with 11.

King also had 15 rebounds for a double-double.

[autotag]Emma Risch[/autotag] was a huge story for the Irish — the guard came off the bench and had 23 points, including 7-of-9 from three-point land. Guard [autotag]Cassandre Prosper[/autotag] had 20 off the bench.

Next up for Notre Dame, after a brief break for final exams, will be a visit from Loyola Maryland at noon EST on Dec. 22.

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Notre Dame women’s basketball defeats UConn for third straight season

That’s three wins over top-five teams, too.

Notre Dame and UConn is as anticipated a matchup as you’ll find in women’s basketball. With numerous former Irish players on hand along with a sellout crowd at Purcell Pavilion, not to mention [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag], all eyes were on whether the Irish could beat a top-five opponent for the third time this season.

With the university nearing final exams, the Irish passed its own exam and won, 79-68, for their third victory over the Huskies in as many seasons. That means UConn, Texas and USC are a combined 0-3 against the Irish but 26-0 against everyone else.

The Irish (8-2) led the Huskies (8-1) for most of the game but never by more than 13 points. That lead was cut to one in the waning seconds of the third quarter, but [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] hit her career-high sixth 3 at the buzzer, and the Irish proceeded to score the first six points of the fourth quarter to go back up 10.

Although the Huskies got within six with 3:12 left, the Irish doubled their lead over the next two minutes, and that was that. This was the latest in a series of statement wins:

Hidalgo led all scorers with 29 points to get the better of fellow All-American Paige Bueckers, who had 25 points. She achieved a double-double with 10 rebounds and also had a game-high eight assists.

[autotag]Liatu King[/autotag] had her own double-double with 16 points and 12 boards. [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] overcame an early ankle injury to also score 16 points.

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Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo is must-see menace on both sides of the ball

Hannah Hidalgo is a two-way menace — a real hoops sicko.

It’s time to have a conversation about Notre Dame sophomore Hannah Hidalgo.

Thanks to a fantastic start to the season with backcourt partner Olivia Miles, many conversations about the Fighting Irish have focused on the guard duo. But what has stood out to me in all the hoopla is just how well Hannah Hidalgo has been playing on both sides of the ball by herself.

Hannah is a two-way menace — A REAL BASKETBALL SICKO — who thrives on making matchups a living nightmare for opponents. Because in what world do you average nearly 25 points and seven rebounds a game while also averaging more steals (4.1) than you do turnovers (3.2)?

Did I mention that she’s just 5-foot-6, pulling out these sorts of hijinks?! Apparently, that casual stuff in Hannah’s world, and not enough people are talking about it for me. Just look at this NASTY WORK she did against Texas. A 30-burger with eight rebounds and three steals against a top-10 team. WHAT, HANNAH HIDALGO?! EXCUSE ME?!

To be clear, she’s a wrecking ball on the court, and it doesn’t matter who you are; Hannah will smile in your face and then proceed to drop buckets on your head top right before she takes your lunch money. (She ranks second in the country in steals.)

And, if you’re not careful, you’ll be part of her highlight reel when she inevitably decides to go deep inside her back of tricks and pull out ridiculous stuff like this.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DDN9H1cxz9R/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=d5992998-53d5-436d-a5ce-e7797e9e6a09

Honestly, I’m campaigning for Hannah to be recognized as the best two-player in the country.  Write it down. Tell a friend. Spread the word.

No one is playing better basketball on both sides of the floor than Hannah Hidalgo. She is MUST-SEE TV, and women’s college basketball is better with her as one of the significant culture shifters this season.

Arike Ogunbowale surprises Hannah Hidalgo for Red Bull partnership

The Irish’s past and present come together.

Notre Dame legend [autotag]Arike Ogunbowale[/autotag] already had a partnership with Red Bull. That mainly was because she had become a professional athlete. That opportunity was not available to her when she was with the Irish.

Times have changed though, and the NIL era has made it possible for college athletes to be paid. To that end, current Irish standout [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] has partnered with Red Bull herself now. That means the Irish’s past and present have come together in the corporate world.

The only thing Ogunbowale could do was surprise Hidalgo as she was being interviewed by Red Bull. Before Ogunbowale could enter the room though, Hidalgo admitted that she was cheering against the Irish before Ogunbowale hit her legendary championship-winning shot, which changed her perception.

When asked by Ogunbowale who would win a game between the current Irish and the program’s last national championship team, Hidalgo unsurprisingly picked her team. Still, the fact that they’re in the same room together, even if only for marketing purposes, is enough to make Irish fans happy:

https://www.instagram.com/caa_basketball/p/DDdJ12ovG8K/?hl=en

Here’s hoping this is the start of a long and fruitful relationship between Hidalgo and Red Bull.

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Fourth different Notre Dame player this season earns weekly honor

Congrats, Sonia!

If you want to you know exactly how talented Notre Dame is this season, simply look at the roster. A Notre Dame player has been received a weekly honor from the USBWA for the fourth time this season. A different player has won it each time.

This time, it was [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] earning the honor. She began the week with 18 points, seven rebounds and a career-high seven steals in the Irish’s overtime win over Texas in the ACC/SEC Challenge. She followed that with her first double-double of the season (25 points, 11 rebounds) to help the Irish beat Syracuse in their ACC opener.

Citron joins [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] and [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] as the third Irish player this season to be named one of five national players of the week by the USBWA. [autotag]Kate Koval[/autotag] also has a freshman of the week honor.

The Irish have another big test coming up Thursday against UConn, and the Huskies might be in trouble if Citron has another game like this one:

Best of luck to the Irish against a quality opponent they have beaten in each of the past two seasons.

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Hannah Hidalgo threw the most unreal pass on this assist to Olivia Miles for Notre Dame

Hannah Hidalgo is a real sicko for this.

Hannah Hidalgo and Olivia Miles are already one of the best duos in women’s college basketball. But their chemistry after playing together for less than ten games makes ZERO sense.

People should be utterly baffled by how good Hannah and Olivia are.  Hannah is a two-way menace who puts up nearly 25 points and six rebounds on the offensive end and defensively picks pockets for an incredible 4.5 steals a game. Not to be left out, Olivia averages 17 points, six rebounds and six assists on 53 percent shooting.

When both are on the court, they’re making plays together that take other duos YEARS to come up with — like, I don’t know, a no-look backward pass FROM THE FLOOR. Yeah, that happened. Hildago poked a ball away, stole it, and while still on the ground, passed it over her head to Miles, who knew the ball was coming and was already moving up the floor for a bucket. WHAT KIND OF SORCERY IS THIS?! STOP IT RIGHT NOW.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DDN9H1cxz9R/?igsh=MTNhNmJzZWRiMDkwNg==

(Feature image courtesy of ESPN)

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 tag=421393237]

Notre Dame breaks two-game losing streak with overtime win over Texas

Back on track in a big way.

Notre Dame and Texas was billed as a game to watch in this year’s ACC/SEC Challenge, and it definitely lived up to the hype. The problem with that was the Irish needed to sweat it out to try and overcome its disastrous two games in the Cayman Islands Classic.

The Irish took all they could handle from the Longhorns, but it was enough to get them back on track. They’ll head into their ACC opener against Syracuse coming off an 80-70 overtime victory.

The Irish (6-2) were in control for much of the game after the first quarter, but the Longhorns (7-1) came alive to begin the fourth, and the teams engaged in a back-and-forth throughout that frame.

[autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] broke a tie with what appeared to be the game-winning layup in the final seconds, but [autotag]Liatu King[/autotag] fouled Rori Harmon with one second left and the Irish in the penalty. Harmon hit both free throws to tie it back up. The Irish called a timeout to set up a game-winning shot, but [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag]’s corner 3 missed everything, necessitating free basketball.

Kyla Oldacre scored the first basket of overtime 15 seconds in, but that proved to account for the Longhorns’ final points of the game as they missed their final 10 shots. Four of those misses came from Madison Booker, who wasted a 20-point effort.

The Irish were happy to take advantage as their overtime showing was highlighted by 3s from Hidalgo and [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag]. The Longhorns couldn’t answer as they simply had run out of gas:

Hidalgo scored a season-high 30 points. Miles and Citron both scored 18 with Citron collecting a career-high seven steals. King achieved a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds.

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Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo wins two Player of the Week awards

Way to go, Hannah!

Notre Dame’s [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] played only one game last week, but it made enough of an impact for every women’s basketball fan to notice her. While she was known already, she reminded everyone of her existence anyway.

One day after Hidalgo was named the ACC Player of the Week, the Associated Press named her its player of the week. This came after a win over USC in which she had a line of 24 points, eight rebounds, six assists and five steals.

The game marked the 10th time in her collegiate career in which she achieved a line of at least 20 points and at least five each of rebounds, assists and steals. No other women’s basketball player has done it that many times in the past 25 years.

On at least one day, Hidalgo was the better player on the floor than Trojans standout JuJu Watkins. Here are some of her highlights from the game:

Many more honors will come to her this season. There’s no reason to think they won’t.

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