CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Following a couple of historic performances in her first two outings for Notre Dame, Hannah Hidalgo has earned ACC Rookie of the Week honors.
The freshman from outside of Philadelphia (Haddonfield, N.J.) posted 31 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists last week against South Carolina, the nation’s new No. 1 team in the AP Poll. Hidalgo’s 31 points are the most ever scored in an Irish freshman debut — male or female.
Hidalgo kept the party going for Sunday’s game at NJIT with 26 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 12 steals. She tied the Notre Dame single-game steal record set by Marina Mabrey on Nov. 23, 2015. It was also the first 12-steal game for a Division I player since February 2021.
After the two performances, Hidalgo leads the nation with 7.5 steals per game and is pacing the ACC with 28.5 points per contest. She also leads all ACC freshmen with 4.5 assists per game.
“I’m not surprised at all,” Karen and Kevin Keyes Family Head Coach Niele Ivey said on Sunday of Hidalgo’s performance thus far. “She’s very high IQ, very mature. I’ve known that since I recruited her. It’s like talking to an assistant coach because of the way she sees the game. She’s very cerebral and coachable. I can talk to her about different things and she listens. She’s a sponge, and she just wants to win.
“Having somebody with that mindset is just awesome, especially at the point.”
Hidalgo is one of four players currently on the team to have earned ACC Rookie of the Week honors: KK Bransford (Feb. 28, 2023), Sonia Citron (six times in 2021-22) and Maddy Westbeld (Dec. 7, 2020 and Jan. 3, 2021). Citron and Westbeld went on to win the 2022 and 2021 ACC Rookie of the Year award, respectively.
No. 16 Notre Dame (1-1) takes the court again on Wednesday night, this time welcoming Northwestern (2-0) to Purcell Pavilion. The game tips off on the ACCN at 7 p.m.