Tag: Hannah Hidalgo

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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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

ACC women’s basketball leaders as of Nov. 12

A couple of Irish names are on here.

College basketball season is back, and fans couldn’t be more excited. What that initially means is high statistics across the board. Even if you know these numbers won’t hold up, they still are thrilling to look at. Here are the players who posses those numbers:

Notre Dame crushed by South Carolina in Paris to open season

Yep, the season officially is on.

Even with a healthy [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag], Notre Dame would have been an underdog against South Carolina in the season opener in Paris. After all, the Gamecocks have a better recent track record and a higher preseason ranking.

Whether Miles would have made a difference for the Irish on Monday will remain a mystery. All we know is they’re off to an 0-1 start after a 100-71 blowout loss to the Gamecocks, the first NCAA game ever to be played in the City of Lights.

Freshman phenom [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] scored 13 of her game-high 31 points in the first quarter, leading the Irish to a 25-24 lead after the first 10 minutes. The second quarter was a completely different story as the Gamecocks outscored the Irish, 24-8, and never looked back. In fact, the deficit only continued to balloon from there.

The Gamecocks held considerable advantages over the Irish in many statistical categories. This included bench points (30-10), points in the paint (62-18), fast-break points (24-6), blocks (11-3) and assists (28-10). In short, the Irish were completely outplayed, outworked and outhustled after the first quarter, and it was obvious to anyone watching.

Kamilla Cardoso did the most damage for the Gamecocks with an astonishing line of 20 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks. Freshman MiLaysia Fulwiley was equally lethal with 17 points, six assists, six steals and one of the smoothest moves you’ll ever see anywhere:

The move even got Magic Johnson’s attention:

Three other Gamecocks also reached double figures in scoring, and two of those players had at least six assists. It proved just how many complete players Dawn Staley is lucky to coach.

[autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] and [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] were the two other Irish players to score in double figures with 12 points apiece.

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Photos from Notre Dame’s exhibition win over Purdue Northwest

The Irish are back!

Notre Dame finally was able to get back on the Purcell Pavilion court and compete. Purdue Northwest had the rare honor of being this year’s exhibition opponent for a Division I powerhouse.

It’s unlikely the Pride had any expectations of winning, which they realistically shouldn’t have. If anything, it was an honor to have the chance to lose to the Irish, 110-48.

[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag], this year’s freshman phenom, led everybody with 23 points and seven assists. [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] was just behind Hidalgo in the scoring column with 22 points and came within a rebound of a double-double.

[autotag]Becky Obinma[/autotag] completed the double-double with a line of 12 points and 12 rebounds. Also reaching double figures in scoring for the Irish were [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] (17), [autotag]Cassandre Prosper[/autotag] (15) and [autotag]Natalija Marshall[/autotag] (11).

[autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] was on the bench as she continues to recover from the knee injury she suffered late last season. The timeline for her return remains unclear, but hopefully, it won’t be too long of a wait.

Here are photos from the exhibition contest in South Bend:

Notre Dame women release 2023-24 nonconference schedule

Which game are you most looking forward to?

Barring any unforeseen changes, Notre Dame will enter the 2023-24 season in as good of shape as it could be. [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] will be healthy, [autotag]Cassandre Prosper[/autotag] will be around for a full season, and [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] has arrived. That doesn’t even account for the fact that virtually the entire rest of the rotation from the Irish’s second straight Sweet 16 is returning. Irish fans should be feeling very confident.

Before tackling ACC play, the Irish will play a nonconference schedule. Actually, one of those games is scheduled for the middle of conference play, but that game as well as the season opener will serve as real measuring sticks for where they stand. That’s because those opponents are among the class of women’s basketball.

Based on this schedule, what kind of shape do you think the Irish will be in by the time their conference opponents start popping up? Whatever you think, here it is:

Notre Dame makes top five for Zach Randolph’s daughter Mackenly

Hope they get her.

Notre Dame is looking forward to an exciting season. Almost all of last season’s Sweet 16 team will be back, and highly touted freshman [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] has been added to the mix.

But that doesn’t mean the future can’t be just as exciting as the present. The Irish have reason to be even more hopeful after Mackenly Randolph, daughter of former NBA All-Star Zach Randolph, listed the Irish as one of her final five choices:

Randolph has a five-star rating and a 96 grade on ESPNW. She made the MaxPreps California All-State Girls Basketball Second Team, and the following was said about her:

“Named to the all-area teams by the Los Angeles Times and the Los Angeles Daily News and also a CIF Southern Section All-Open Division team, Randolph averaged 16.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per game.”

The Irish will up against South Carolina, Duke, Louisville and Michigan State for Randolph’s services. That’s some pretty stiff competition, but it’s one the Irish can win. Best of luck to [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] and her staff.

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3 finalists named for Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year

Gatorade has named three finalists for their 2022-2023 National Girls Basketball Player of the Year award.

Gatorade has named three finalists for their 2022-2023 National Girls Basketball Player of the Year award.

The three contenders for the honor are as follows:

Sierra Canyon (Calif.) G Judea “Juju” Watkins

The No. 1 ranked girls hoops player in the nation, Watkins has helped lead her team to a 31-0 record this season and is averaging just under 30 points per game. She was named the Maxpreps National Player of the Year last year. Watkins has committed to playing her college ball at USC.

Sidwell Friends (D.C.) G Jadyn Donovan

Last season Donovan also led her team to an undefeated record (30-0), while averaging 15.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.3 steals per game, according to MaxPreps. Donovan is ranked third overall in the recruiting class of 2023 and has committed to Duke.

Paul VI (N.J.) PG Hannah Hidalgo

Few players around the country have enjoyed a more fruitful high school career than Hidalgo. From 2019-2022 she averaged 21.5 points, 4.7 rebonds, 3.8 assists and a remarkable 5.4 steals per game. During that time her team went 61-9. Hidalgo has committed to playing for Notre Dame at the next level.

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Notre Dame commit among finalists for national player of the year

Quite the honor for the future Irish star.

The Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year has ended up at Notre Dame a few times. [autotag]Brianna Turner[/autotag] won it in 2014 and [autotag]Skylar Diggins[/autotag] in 2009. Two other winners, Erin Boley in 2016 and Michelle Marciniak in 1991, began their collegiate careers at Notre Dame but transferred elsewhere after one season. Another player could soon be joining those ranks.

[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] of Paul VI in Haddonfield, New Jersey, committed to the Irish on Nov. 15. This came a few months after winning gold with the U.S. in the FIBA U17 Women’s World Cup. Now, she is one of three finalists for the Gatorade National Girls Player of the Year.

When Hidalgo announced her decision to commit to the Irish, [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] said the following:

“Irish eyes are smiling! We are ecstatic to welcome five-star point guard Hannah Hidalgo to the ND family!  Hannah brings swag, competitiveness, and a relentless drive that will instantly elevate our program. She is-multi dimensional, lightning fast and tenacious defensively with a scorer’s mentality and a high basketball IQ.  Hannah does a great job of pushing pace and making everyone around her better.  The Joyce Center will be electric to watch one of the fastest backcourts in the country with the additions of Hannah, Cass Prosper and Emma Risch.”

Here are some profiles of Hidalgo and the other two finalists for this award:

The top 25 girls basketball recruits in the class of 2023

Here are the top 25 girls high school basketball players in the country according to ESPN’s rankings.

Basketball season is now in full swing for both boys and girls teams. Let’s take a look at the top players in girls hoops.

Here are the top 25 girls high school basketball players in the country, according to ESPN’s rankings, and which college programs they have committed to.

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Top prospect JuJu Watkins commits to USC

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Watch: this girl’s trick shot dropped defenders’ jaws