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The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have been one of the top teams in the country early on in the 2024-25 season and one of the big reasons why is the standout play of star point guard Hannah Hidalgo. They have a few signature wins against USC and Texas and look like a team that can make a deep NCAA Tournament run. During Notre Dame's 80-70 win against Texas on Thursday, Hannah Hidalgo joined former Fighting Irish star Arike Ogunbowale with an incredible feat.
Hannah Hidalgo became the second player in Notre Dame history, behind only Arike Ogunbowale, to notch 17 or more games with at least 25 points, as per Alexa Philippou of ESPN. Only Ogunbowale has more than 17 games of 25 or more points.
Against Texas, Hidalgo finished with a stat-line of 30 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals in 45 minutes of play. She shot 11-of-20 from the field, 3-0f-5 from the three-point line and 5-of-5 from the free-throw line.
Alongside Olivia Miles, Hidalgo has been one half of arguably the best guard pairing in the country. After beating Texas, Notre Dame improved to 6-2 on the season.
The Fighting Irish are without a doubt in the conversation for national championship contender. The last time Notre Dame won an NCAA title was back in 2018 with Ogunbowale at the helm.
Hannah Hidalgo's star power for Notre Dame
While Hidalgo isn't eligible for the WNBA Draft until 2027, she's been on the radar of WNBA teams. One of the best defensive guards in the nation, Hidalgo is a good all-around talent who can score the ball and be a playmaker as well.
Last season, Hidalgo helped lead Notre Dame to the Sweet 16 where they ultimately fell to Oregon State. The game featured a bizarre stoppage during which Hidalgo was forced to remove a nose right that she had played with for every game prior to that. She missed around four minutes of gameplay.
But she burst on the scene as part of a highly-touted and impressive freshman class of 2023 that included USC's JuJu Watkins, South Carolina's MiLayshia Fulwiley and a trio of players at UConn in KK Arnold, Ashylnn Shade and Qadence Samuels.
This season, Hidalgo has appeared in all eight games for Notre Dame at around 38 minutes per game which currently leads the NCAA. She's been averaging 24.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 4.4 steals with splits of 46.9 percent shooting from the field, 42.1 percent shooting from the three-point line and 81.1 percent shooting from the free-throw line. Her steals also leads the NCAA.
