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The Notre Dame Fighting Irish saw their season come to an end at the hands of the Oregon State Beavers in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. It's been a tough season for the Fighting Irish who had only six available players during the Tournament. But perhaps the biggest storyline of the game was Notre Dame freshman star Hannah Hidalgo being forced to remove her nose ring. Following the game, Hidalgo had some scathing words for the officials as per Andrea Adelson of ESPN.
“I thought it was B.S., because I'm on a run, I'm on a roll,” Hidalgo said. “I scored two baskets and then having to sit out for all that time, I was starting to get cold. I think [the officials] were worried about the wrong things. They should have reffed the game.”
Hannah Hidalgo was out of gameplay for nearly five minutes for Notre Dame while removing her nose ring. She was attended to by the team trainers on the bench as they helped her take the ring off, but they ran into a few issues causing a nose bleed. She has apparently been playing with the ring on all season.
Hidalgo struggled to find a rhythm for the rest of the game, finishing with only ten points on 4-17 shooting from the field and 0-3 from three point range. The star freshman has been one of the top players in college basketball this season.
Hidalgo appeared in 34 games for the Fighting Irish at a little over 35 minutes per game. She averaged 22.9 points per game, 6.2 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 4.6 steals with splits of 45.1 percent shooting from the field, 34.7 percent shooting from the three point line and 77.4 percent shooting from the free throw line.
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She set a few records this season at Notre Dame, surpassing former Fighting Irish legend and WNBA star Skylar Diggins-Smith for a few of them. A top defensive player, Hidalgo was one of the Atlantic Coast Conference's leader in steals.
The Fighting Irish dealt with a multitude of injuries this year including one to rising star Olivia Miles. With Miles expected back next season, the Fighting Irish have the potential to be a top team in the ACC again and make another NCAA Tournament run.
Under head coach Niele Ivey, Notre Dame has made the NCAA Tournament in three of her four seasons at the helm, reaching the Sweet 16 each time. Despite the numerous injuries this season, reducing the number of available players to six, the Fighting Irish had a strong regular season. They turned that into being selected as a No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
A potential Hidalgo/Miles backcourt is arguably on pace for one of the best in the country. Fans certainly have reason for optimism for the 2024-25 season.
