In a post-game interview on the ACC Network after No. 5 seed Notre Dame women’s basketball beat No. 12 seed Miami (Fla.) 69-54 in a second-round conference tournament game Thursday, junior Hannah Hidalgo used two animals to describe her game.
A dog, and the Energizer Bunny.
The back-to-back ACC Player and Defensive Player of the Year showed that with a 28-point, eight-rebound, five-steal and five-assist performance vs. the Hurricanes. Her second takeaway of the game clinched the record for the most single season steals in ACC history.
Hidalgo now sits at 167 and counting.
“She’s just relentless,” Irish head coach Niele Ivey said. “She loves to play defense ― that’s her superpower. She brings it all.”
It’s obvious how much Hidalgo impacts the way Notre Dame plays, but more important is the difference in how the Irish’s opponents play when she’s on the court vs. on the bench. Granted, she isn’t on the bench much having started all 30 games with an average of 36.1 minutes per night.
Senior ACC Most Improved Player winner and All-ACC Second Team honoree Cassandre Prosper noted how Hidalgo impacts Notre Dame’s opponent on both ends of the floor.
“They’re hesitating and it makes us be able to anticipate passes better, and offensively she pushes the ball up the court so that they have to guard her,” Prosper said. “That frees up the ball for us, or she’s able to attack and make space for us to be able to attack as well. Everyone feels it offensively and defensively. She’s just amazing on the court.”
Hidalgo averages an NCAA-best 5.6 steals per game, leading to the Irish forcing an ACC-best 20.1 turnovers per game. The Hurricanes coughed the ball up 18 times Thursday, leading to 23 Notre Dame points off those turnovers.
It wasn’t all dominance from the Irish, trailing Miami until the 2:35 mark in the first quarter. They also gave up a 10-0 run to start the fourth quarter, allowing the Hurricanes to cut Notre Dame’s 18-point lead to start the period into a single-digit margin.
After a media timeout with 4:31 left in regulation, the Irish shook away the cobwebs and outscored Miami 11-4 to end the game as 15-point victors. Prosper was Notre Dame’s second leading scorer with 12 points while grad student Iyana Moore joined her in double figures with 11. Fellow grad student Malaya Cowles paced the Irish with 12 rebounds.
“We’ve been tested all season long with our schedule … being in the fire a lot this season,” Ivey said. “Those experiences have helped us mature in games where teams go on runs … We’ve been in these types of environments, and we know what to do.
“This group knows what to do, and it’s a credit to our leaders staying poised and having that calm presence.”
Notre Dame’s victory was its second of the year against Miami (17-14, 8-10 ACC) and it was its sixth in a row overall. The Irish have now won eight of their last nine games.
Notre Dame was at its best in the second period, allowing just four points defensively to lead 37-23 at halftime. Much of the Irish’s success also had to do with limiting Miami’s All-ACC First Team center Ra Shaya Kyle, who ended with 11 points and 15 rebounds after scoring 36 and 25 in her two most recent games leading up to Thursday.
The grad student is a Marion, Indiana, native who previously played for Purdue and Florida before joining the Hurricanes in her final year of eligibility.
Notre Dame (21-9, 12-6 ACC) moves on to play No. 4 seed North Carolina State (20-9, 13-5 ACC) in a quarterfinal game at 1:30 p.m. ET Friday, March 6 at Gas South Arena in Duluth, Georgia, on the ACC Network. The Irish’s current win streak began Feb. 15 with a 79-67 victory vs. the Wolfpack, no doubt serving as motivation for the latter coming off a double bye.
This streaking Notre Dame team has a lot to play for as well, as the winner will move on to a semifinal contest at noon ET Saturday, March 7 on ESPN2 against the winner of No. 1 seed Duke (21-8, 16-2 ACC) vs. No. 9 seed Clemson (21-10, 11-7 ACC). The Irish lost to both the Blue Devils and the Tigers in the regular season.
Kyle Smedley is a sports reporter at the South Bend Tribune. Contact him via email at ksmedley@usatodayco.com or follow him on X @KyleMSmedley.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Hannah Hidalgo channels Energizer Bunny in ACC Tournament win vs. Miami
Reporting by Kyle Smedley, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
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