Hannah Hidalgo’s 30-Point, Triple-Double Leads Irish Past Bellarmine
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Hannah Hidalgo recorded her second career triple-double in No. 20 Notre Dame’s 110-38 runaway victory over Bellarmine on Sunday evening inside Purcell Pavilion. The 30-point, triple-double is the first in program history.
The Irish improved to 9-2 on the season with the win.
Hidalgo continues to rewrite the Notre Dame record books, as she broke the program record for career games with 30 or more points (12), passing Arike Ogunbowale for the top spot. The junior finished with 30 points on 13-of-17 shooting, 13 steals, 10 assists and five rebounds in just 22 minutes of action.
Six players finished in double figures for the Irish. Cassandre Prosper (20 points, 14 rebounds) and Gisela Sanchez (17 points, 10 rebounds) each recorded double-doubles. Vanessa de Jesus (15), Iyana Moore (13) and Malaya Cowles (10) each reached double figures in the win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish tied their most points in a quarter in the first against Bellarmine, scoring 36 to open up a 23-point lead. Notre Dame exploded out of the gates, scoring the game’s first 10 points in less than two minutes of play to build an early advantage.
Notre Dame used defense to lead to easy offense, recording eight steals which led to 16 points in the opening 10 minutes of play. Hidalgo scored 14 points in the first frame followed by seven from Sanchez and six apiece from Prosper and Cowles.
The Irish used an 18-0 run in the middle of the second stanza to take a 41-point lead at 57-16 before leading the Knights by a score of 59-20 at the halftime break. The 39-point halftime lead marks the largest of the season for Notre Dame.
Notre Dame recorded its second 30-point quarter of the evening in the third, outscoring the visitors 30-7 in the frame to take an 89-27 lead into the final 10 minutes of action.
The Irish posted 21 points in the final frame en route to the 110-38 victory.
NOTRE DAME STAT OF THE GAME
The Irish finished with 28 steals as a team in the win, marking the third time this season the team has recorded 20 or more in a game. That represents the most 20+ steals performances in a season since the 2011-12 season (3).
Hidalgo’s 13 steals mark the third time the junior has recorded double-digit steals in a game in her career, with two coming this season (she set the NCAA record with 16 in a win vs. Akron).
NOTRE DAME NOTES
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The 72-point victory is the largest of the season for the Irish and eighth in program history.
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The Irish have won at least 9 of their first 11 games to start the year for the fifth straight season.
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Notre Dame has recorded double-digit steals in 10-of-11 games this season.
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Sunday’s win gives Notre Dame 27 straight victories in non-conference home games.
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The Irish have now won 24 straight games against unranked opposition.
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Eight of Notre Dame’s nine wins have come by at least 10 points.
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The Fighting Irish have recorded 10 or more steals in 54-of-80 games since the start of the 2023-24 season.
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Hidalgo became the all-time program leader for 30-point games with 12, passing Arike Ogunbowale (11) for the top spot.
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Hidalgo has now finished in double figures for scoring in 78 consecutive games (every game of her career), the most of any player in program history.
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Prosper’s 20-point performance gives the senior four straight games of 20 or more points. Previously, Prosper had just two 20+ point games in her career.
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Prosper finished with a career-high 14 rebounds.
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Sanchez recorded the second double-double of the season and her career.
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Sanchez’s 17-point night is a season high.
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De Jesus set her career high in steals with five.
UP NEXT
The Fighting Irish have the next week off for Christmas before returning to Purcell Pavilion to welcome Pitt in their ACC home opener at 6 p.m. ET on Monday, Dec. 29. The game will air on ACCN.
