Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo turned in ‘the best’ performance head coach Niele Ivey has ever seen on Wednesday.
Hidalgo set an NCAA record with 16 steals and scored a school-record 44 points in Notre Dame’s 85-58 win over the Akron Zips at Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, Indiana. Jewell Loyd and Ruth Riley (41 points) held the single-game record for the Irish.
‘This is definitely a memorable (game) to do it with this group. It means a lot to me,’ Hidalgo said postgame. ‘That’s the most important thing. I just love to see. So to be able to do it with the group that we have here, I mean, I wouldn’t want to do with anybody else.’
The 44 points were also a career high for Hidalgo, who shot 16-of-25 from the field, 3-of-6 from the 3-point line and 9-of-11 from the charity stripe. As if that wasn’t enough, Hidalgo had nine rebounds, four assists and six turnovers in just 28 minutes of play.
Following Notre Dame’s third victory to open the season, Hidalgo’s teammates doused her with water in the locker room. She posed with a white sheet of paper inscribed with her record-breaking stats in a nod to a well-known photo of Wilt Chamberlain after his 100-point game.
‘You have to celebrate that. That was just phenomenal to be a part of and to witness,’ Ivey said. ‘She played with such aggression the entire time she was on the floor… It’s pretty amazing what I just witnessed.’
Hidalgo has been borderline unstoppable to start her junior campaign, dropping 27 points against FDU to open the season on Nov. 5 and 32 points against Chicago State. on Nov. 9.
Hidalgo, a two-time All-American, two-time ACC Defensive Player of the Year and reigning ACC Player of the Year, has recorded back-to-back seasons with 700 or more points at Notre Dame (only Arike Ogunbowale has done that) and 100 or more steals. She also became the fastest player in program history to reach 1,000 career points.
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