Tag: Kylee Watson

Notre Dame 2024 signee named Naismith Second Team All-American

Another top talent on the way to Notre Dame is honored.

Hannah Hidalgo has set a high bar for future Notre Dame freshmen. That doesn’t mean future first-year players won’t try to top her though. One player who could do it during the 2024-25 season is [autotag]Kate Koval[/autotag].

Koval is a five-star player at Long Island Lutheran in Brookeville, New York who signed with the Irish in December. Now, she’s been named to the Naismith Trophy Girls’ High School All America Second Team.

Hidalgo made the Second Team in 2023, and [autotag]Emma Risch[/autotag] was an honorable mention. [autotag]KK Bransford[/autotag] was a Third Team honoree in 2022 and an honorable mention in 2021. [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] made the Third Team in 2020, and [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] and [autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag] were senior honorable mentions.

It’s evidence that even in the post-[autotag]Muffet McGraw[/autotag] era, Notre Dame continues to attract top talent for women’s basketball, and there’s no reason to think that will stop anytime soon. Even so, a strong postseason showing would do wonders to show just how attractive the program still is.

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Ivey, Hidalgo, Citron, Westbeld speak after Notre Dame win

Hear what the victors had to say about this game.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – There’s no doubt Notre Dame wants to have one or two more games at Purcell Pavilion this season. The Irish have been playing even better lately, most recently with their 74-58 win over Louisville. It all depends on what the NCAA Tournament selection committee thinks of its resume. We’ll save that discussion for another day though.

The discussion right now is this latest victory, which [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] was happy to talk about afterwards. After a win like that though, it wasn’t enough to bring in the usual one or two players. She brought in her three best, and they all deserved it.

[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] did her usual thing with 26 points, eight rebounds, four assists and six steals. [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] scored 17 points, and [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] had a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Fighting Irish Wire was on hand during this postgame news conference, and here is some of what was said:

Notre Dame clinches ACC Tournament double-bye with win vs. Louisville

Great way to end the regular season.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Hopefully, Notre Dame has not played its final game at Purcell Pavilion this season. That depends on how the selection committee for the NCAA Tournament feels about giving the Irish a top-four seed. Regardless, the Irish continued to make their case in front of a packed house with a 74-58 win over Louisville, giving them a double-bye for this week’s ACC Tournament.

The first half was very much even until the Irish (23-6, 13-5) saw the Cardinals (23-8, 12-6) take their biggest lead at seven going into halftime. The third quarter was a much different story though as the Irish became as red-hot from the field as the Cardinals became ice-cold, though the Irish’s defense also had a hand in that. The shooting numbers in that quarter told the story: 11 of 13 for the Irish, and 2 of 17 for the Cardinals.

[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] had a trademark game of 26 points, eight rebounds, four assists and six steals. [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] scored 17 points, [autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag] added 10, and [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] achieved a double-double of 11 points and 11 boards.

With the victory in their final regular-season game, the Irish didn’t need to worry about Wake Forest having to upset NC State. They now get to go straight to the ACC Tournament quarterfinals. That extra rest will do wonders for a team that has had depth issues all season. We’ll see how much it pays off.

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Notre Dame wins double-overtime thriller over Florida State

Perfect tuneup for watching the Super Bowl later.

In the event the Super Bowl later in the day turned out to be boring, Notre Dame and Florida State would have had you covered. Two teams stacked with talent and close to each other in the ACC standings battled it out and gave everything they had.

It was a shame one team had to lose. Fortunately for the Irish, they won this epic double-overtime contest, 98-94.

The Irish (18-5, 8-4) had chances to win the game in both regulation and the first overtime, but [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] missed a couple of potential game-winners. In between, [autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag] made a defensive stop to keep the Seminoles (17-8, 8-5) from winning in regulation, even with little time left.

Ultimately, this game came down to the basics. With the scored tied at 94, Seminoles star Ta’Niya Latson, who scored a season-high 34 points, missed a shot out of a timeout with little time left on the shot clock. Hidalgo got the rebound, and the Irish got a timeout with 5.9 seconds left in double overtime.

Latson tried to intercept the subsequent inbound pass but fouled Sonia Citron instead. Citron, the ACC leader in free-throw percentage in conference games, calmly knocked down two shots from the charity stripe, giving the Irish a lead with 4.5 seconds remaining.

The Seminoles called their last timeout, but they never got another shot off. Watson stole the subsequent inbound pass, and Hidalgo recovered it before being fouled and icing the game with two of her own free throws. It was a win the Irish absolutely needed with NC State coming to South Bend on Thursday.

Hidalgo had a nice all-around game with 27 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and five steals. [autotag]Anna DeWolfe[/autotag] wasn’t far behind in the scoring column with a season-high 24 points, including six 3-pointers.

[autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] showed off her two-way skills with 19 points, 14 rebounds and four steals. Citron flirted with a double-double thanks to 18 points and eight boards.

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Notre Dame scores 26 unanswered to pull away from Georgia Tech

The Irish win with ease again.

Coming off an impressive win at UConn, Notre Dame could have been ready for a letdown against Georgia Tech as it resumed ACC play. Never mind that the Yellow Jackets had lost four of their previous five games. That letdown didn’t happen though. In fact, the Irish completely obliterated their hosts, 85-48.

After the teams were tied at 9 with 6:35 remaining in the first quarter, the Irish (16-4, 6-3) floored the gas pedal. They scored 26 unanswered points and didn’t allow the Jackets (13-9, 4-6) to crack the scoreboard again until for a full quarter’s worth of game time.

[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] put the exclamation point on the first half by beating the halftime buzzer for the second straight game, this time with a layup after hitting a 3 against the Huskies. The second half became a mere formality.

For the second straight game, Hidalgo set a career scoring high, this time to the tune of 35 points. She also had six steals after not getting any in the last contest, allowing her to reach the 100-steal mark for the season. Rounding out another impressive night for her were eight assists.

[autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag] was the only other Irish to reach double figures. She scored 19 points and finished one rebound shy of a double-double.

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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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Niele Ivey, Cassandre Prosper speak after win over Northwestern

No updates about Citron yet.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Emotions were running high for Notre Dame after it beat Northwestern, 110-52. Instead of celebrating a victory, the Irish were concerned for the well-being of standout guard [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag], who scored 23 points but suffered an injury late in the third quarter.

When [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] and [autotag]Cassandre Prosper[/autotag] (seven points off the bench) came down to speak with the media after the game, neither knew what was going on with Citron. All they and anyone who follows the Irish knew was that losing Citron for an extended period of time would be devastating. This is a team also wondering when [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] will be healthy enough to rejoin the lineup.

Fortunately, Citron’s injury wasn’t the only topic of discussion during the postgame news conference. Most questions were aimed at Ivey, but Prosper had a couple of questions thrown her way. Here is some of what they had to say about a mixed bag of an evening:

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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