The women’s basketball rankings continue to experience chaos, with No. 24 Notre Dame pulling off a big upset Friday. After going down by double digits in the third quarter, the Fighting Irish surged back for a 61-59 win over USC.
In front of a packed crowd, Notre Dame pulled to a tie in the fourth quarter. With seconds remaining in the game, star guard Hannah Hidalgo hit the final blow with a tough contested jumper that turned out to be the game-winner.
With USC up 33-31 at halftime, the Trojans started to pull away in the third quarter, at one point going on a 15-5 run to pull to a double-digit lead.
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The Fighting Irish, though, didn’t back down, outscoring the Trojans 15-8 in the fourth quarter.
Hidalgo finished with a game-high 22 points, with guards Vanessa de Jesus and KK Bransford pitching in 13 and 11 points, respectively. Kara Dunn led the scoring for USC with 21 points, including four 3-pointers.
It’s been an up-and-down start to the season for Notre Dame, with Hidalgo’s 44-point performance leading the Irish to a blowout win over Akron last week. But then Notre Dame slid back down the rankings after a crushing 39-point loss to Michigan last week.
Much of the Irish’s success seems to be tied to Hidalgo, who is the only remaining starter from last season’s Sweet 16 team. Sonia Citron, Liatu King and Maddy Westbeld were all drafted into the WNBA, while Olivia Miles transferred to TCU. As a result, the bulk of Notre Dame’s scoring now rests on Hidalgo, who only scored 12 points in the loss to the Wolverines.
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The Fighting Irish are now 4-1, but they won’t have to wait long for another ranked matchup, as they face No. 13 Ole Miss on Dec. 4.
