NCAAW: Hannah Hidalgo scores 34 as Notre Dame wins 14th-straight game

No. 3 Notre Dame met Louisville at the KFC Yum! Center on Sunday afternoon for a heated game of good, old-fashioned gritty basketball. In the end, the Fighting Irish prevailed, 89-71, securing their 14th-straight win and advancing to 10-0 in ACC play. But, for a good three quarters, the Cardinals gave the visitors all they could handle.

Louisville won the tip off, but almost immediately earned a halfcourt violation that put the ball in Notre Dame’s hands. Olivia Miles, the potential No. 2 pick in April’s WNBA Draft, immediately hit two points that were answered by Louisville’s Olivia Cochran (who also should be on mock draft at this point).

Miles showed off her elite passing early and consistently, tossing a lob over her shoulder that Hannah Hidalgo failed to bring to finish. While the Fighting Irish led through the first quarter, Louisville’s freshmen—led by Tajianna Roberts, Izela Arenas and Mackenly Randolph—began to bring the fight for the Cardinals, hitting 3s (Roberts) and playing tough defense (Arenas and Randolph, with the latter even putting Miles on the ground).

The Cardinals began to rally in a serious way to close out the first with Cochran, Arenas, Randolph, Roberts and Nyla Harris on the court. Louisville’s defense was sizzling, with Notre Dame traveling twice in a minute. Arenas declined to be intimidated by Hidalgo, more than holding her own against the guard largely considered to be one of the best in the country.

Roberts electrified the home crowd at the top of the second, hitting a 2-pointer that she quickly followed with 3 to bring the score to 25-18, Notre Dame. Roberts hit a second 3 before the eight-minute mark of the quarter, rallying the Cardinals to a 25-21 difference. Notre Dame quickly answered with a 3 of their own by Liza Karlen.

Cochran then landed her own 3 with just over six minutes to go until halftime, which cut Notre Dame’s advantage to 28-24. An intentional foul against Cochran by Karlen allowed Jayda Curry the opportunity to hit free throws, which then put the Cards within two points of the Irish.

Roberts hit another 3 with just under five minutes left in the quarter, a major shot that was quickly followed by two points from Randolph that allowed the Cards to pull ahead, 31-30. Hidalgo then was fouled and landed both her shots—much to the chagrin of Louisville’s disappointed fans, to whom she blew a kiss as they loudly booed. Curry lifted fans’ spirits almost immediately with a spicy steal from under Hidalgo’s nose. She was fouled, which allowed her to tie the game back up, 32-32. Randolph scored another two points and hovered over Miles, telling her to “stay down” on the floor.

Curry kept the energy high with another steal—her fourth of the afternoon—and hit a shot, bringing the Cards up 38-37 with 50 seconds left before the half. Not to be outdone, Hidalgo answered that shot with a 3, ending the half with the score at 39-38, Notre Dame.

Ja’Leah Williams hit two points 30 seconds into the third quarter, helping the Cards pull ahead by one. That shot was soon answered by Hidalgo, who brought the score up to 43-40 in Notre Dame’s favor. Louisville, however, refused to let Notre Dame run away. When Hidalgo hit another 3, Merissah Russell answered with a triple of her own, and the score was 50-47, with Notre Dame holding the three-point edge with four minutes left in the third.

Soon after that, despite a brief window when Notre Dame turned the ball over and appeared to momentarily falter in the face of Louisville’s defense, the Irish began to establish a more comfortable advantage. A tough Hidalgo and-1 layup, where she fought through at least three defenders to make the basket before then converting the free throw, gave Notre Dame a 57-48 lead.

Soon, Hidalgo was jumping up and down on the court in an effort to direct traffic, a strategy that worked as she brought the score up to 59-50 with one and a half minutes remaining in the period. The teams traded shots until Sonia Citron hit a buzzer beater for the Irish, ending the quarter with Notre Dame ahead, 65-54.

The fourth quarter opened up with a near-immediate shot from Cochran, bringing the score to 65-56, but the game soon slipped away from Louisville, with Notre Dame pulling away for the 89-71 victory.

The fourth quarter did provide an opportunity for the Cardinals’ freshmen to see more time on the court. Arenas continued showing off her improved defense, in addition to her passing, as she tied the team lead with four assists on the afternoon. Randolph finished with eight points and 10 boards, while Roberts led the team in scoring with 17 points.

Hidalgo, Miles and Citron showed why they’re three of the top athletes in women’s collegiate basketball. Hidalgo, who finished with 34 points, became the first Irish player to record back-to-back games of at least 30 points since Jewell Loyd in 2014.