SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The biggest stars rise to the occasion in the biggest games, and Hannah Hidalgo did just that, knocking down a midrange, pull-up jumper with just 1.9 seconds remaining to deliver the No. 24 Fighting Irish (4-1) an early-season signature win over No. 11 USC (3-2) inside a raucous Purcell Pavilion.
Hidalgo’s clutch shot capped off a big night for the junior, finishing with 22 points, seven rebounds, five steals and two assists.
Vanessa de Jesus scored 13 points with four assists and two steals while KK Bransford also finished in double figures in scoring with 11 points, nine of which came in the fourth quarter.
Notre Dame used a suffocating defense, holding the Trojans to just eight points in the fourth quarter to spark the comeback victory. The Irish finished with 16 steals on the evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Trojans held an early lead at 10-6 midway through the first frame before the Irish defense started swarming and causing chaos, which led to a 9-0 run to give Notre Dame a 15-10 lead.
USC responded with the final four points of the quarter to trim the Irish lead to one at 15-14 after the opening 10 minutes of play.
Hidalgo connected on a three to open the second stanza, pushing the lead to four before USC went on a 7-0 run to retake the lead at 21-18 at the 7-minute mark of the quarter.
The two teams traded buckets for the remainder of the half, neither side able to lead by more than five, as the Trojans held a narrow 33-31 advantage heading into the halftime intermission.
Hidalgo and de Jesus each had a productive first half with double-digit scoring, as Hidalgo led the way with 13 points and de Jesus had 11.
After a bucket by Hidalgo to start the second half, the Trojans outscored the Irish 10-2 to take an eight point lead at 43-35 over the first four minutes of the third.
The USC lead grew to as many as 11 before the Irish ripped off six straight points to end the third quarter to cut the visitor’s advantage to just five at 51-46. The run was capped off by a Hidalgo steal and fastbreak layup seconds before the buzzer to send the Fighting Irish faithful into a frenzy.
Notre Dame carried the momentum into the fourth quarter, scoring the first four points to cut the deficit to just one at 51-50 with 6:32 left in regulation. A Trojan free throw stopped the run but Cassandre Prosper answered with a driving layup to level the score at 52-52 with less than five minutes left in the game, forcing a timeout from USC.
USC made a bucket coming out of the timeout to retake the lead but a layup from Bransford followed by a steal and fastbreak layup from Hidalgo gave the Irish their first lead since midway through the second quarter with just over three minutes left in the fourth.
A free throw from Bransford pushed the lead to three but the visitors responded with a three-pointer and then a made jumper to go back up by two at 59-57 with 1:33 on the clock.
Bransford once again came up big, scoring a layup to tie the game with 38 seconds left in the game, setting up Hidalgo’s heroics.
After Hidalgo made her jumper and USC called a timeout with 1.9 seconds left, Prosper sealed the win by deflecting the inbounds pass, causing a turnover and not allowing the Trojans to get a final look as time expired with the score 61-59.
NOTRE DAME NOTES
-
Notre Dame improves to 10-2 against USC in the all-time series, including winning each of the last three matchups.
-
The Irish have recorded double-digit steals in all three games this season.
-
ND has recorded 10 or more steals in 49-of-74 games since the beginning of the 2023-24 season.
-
The win gives the Fighting Irish 17 straight victories at home in non-conference regular season play.
-
Hidalgo has now recorded 55 career 20+ point games, the third most in program history.
-
Hidalgo passed Brianna Turner (375) for ninth in career free throws made in program history and now has 374 in her career.
UP NEXT
The Fighting Irish are back in action in a non-conference matchup against Central Michigan at 9 p.m. ET on Monday, Nov. 24 inside Purcell Pavilion. The game will air on ACCN.
