Irish Breakdown

No. 6 Notre Dame Stuns No. 3 USC with Dominant Win in Los Angeles

Notre Dame women's basketball announced itself as a national championship threat to the nation Saturday

Nick Shepkowski

Hannah Hidalgo and Notre Dame travel to Los Angeles to take on USC in one of the weekend's top women's college basketball matchups.
Hannah Hidalgo and Notre Dame travel to Los Angeles to take on USC in one of the weekend's top women's college basketball matchups. / Michael Clubb / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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Generally November battles between Notre Dame and USC with both teams ranked in the nation's top 10 are reserved for football.

Saturday however saw the No. 6 Notre Dame women's basketball team travel to Los Angeles and take care of business against No. 3 USC in a big way, handing the Trojans a 74-61 loss.

Notre Dame moved to 5-0 on the year behind a huge game from Hannah Hidalgo as the star sophomore led all scorers with 24 points. She also had eight assists, five steals, and six rebounds.

Notre Dame played extremely well in several areas, but their defense has to be mentioned early in the recap.

USC was held to just 35.8% shooting on the afternoon while struggling with 21 team turnovers. Star Soni Cintron scored 10 points on the night but was most impressive for holding USC's star Juju Watkins largely in check.

Notre Dame's fast start set the tone for the day. The Irish jumped out to an 11-point lead in the first quarter and had USC on its heels most the game.

While Hidalgo led the way, Olivia Miles was massive in Notre Dame's winning effort as well. The projected top-five WNBA draft pick recorded 20 points while pulling down eight rebounds and dishing out seven assists.

Notre Dame is now 5-0 on the year after passing its biggest test to date with flying colors. It will return to action again next Friday as it opens the Cayman Islands Open against TCU.

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Nick Shepkowski
NICK SHEPKOWSKI

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