Irish Breakdown

Hannah Hidalgo Keeps Rolling, Leads Notre Dame to Win Over Louisville

Notre Dame has now won 14-straight after winning at Louisville on Sunday

Nick Shepkowski

Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey, right, slaps hands with guard Hannah Hidalgo (3) during a NCAA women's basketball game between No. 3 Notre Dame and Wake Forest at Purcell Pavilion on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in South Bend.
Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey, right, slaps hands with guard Hannah Hidalgo (3) during a NCAA women's basketball game between No. 3 Notre Dame and Wake Forest at Purcell Pavilion on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in South Bend. / MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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Hannah Hidalgo continues her quest for the women's basketball national player of the year award as on Sunday she was lights-out great again. Hidalgo scored a season-high 34 points to lead No. 3 Notre Dame to an 89-71 victory over Louisville on Sunday. Hidalgo’s 12-point third quarter helped the Fighting Irish (19-2, 10-0 ACC) extend a narrow 39-38 halftime lead into a commanding 65-54 advantage.

Notre Dame opened the game with a 12-0 run in the first quarter but faced a strong challenge from the Cardinals (15-7, 8-3), who responded with a 16-3 run to take a 29-28 lead in the second quarter.

Olivia Miles contributed 17 points, while Liatu King added 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting, along with 12 rebounds. For Louisville, Tajianna Roberts led the way with 17 points, followed by Olivia Cochran (14 points) and Jayda Curry (12 points).

The game remained close until the fourth quarter, when Notre Dame pulled away, leading by as much as 87-64 with just over three minutes left. Despite the loss, Louisville continued to struggle against ranked opponents, now 1-6 against teams in the AP Top 25. Notre Dame dominated the paint, outscoring Louisville 46-30 in that area.

The key moment came when Louisville, trailing 50-47, missed five consecutive shots, while Notre Dame finished the third quarter strong, extending the lead to 11.

Notre Dame returns to action when it looks to make it 15-straight as it hosts Stanford on Thursday.

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Nick Shepkowski
NICK SHEPKOWSKI

Managing Editor for Notre Dame On SI. Started covering Chicago sports teams for WSCR the Score, and over the years worked with CBS Radio, Audacy, NBC Sports, and FOX Sports as a contributor before running the Notre Dame wire site for USA TODAY.

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