CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo’s extensive list of honors and awards keeps growing. On Tuesday, the junior was named ACC Player of the Year for the second straight season and ACC Defensive Player of the Year for the third consecutive season.
Hidalgo earned both awards from both the league’s head coaches voting and by the league’s Blue Ribbon Panel.
Cassandre Prosper also picked up league honors, becoming the first Notre Dame player to be selected the ACC Most Improved Player by both the coaches and Blue Ribbon Panel.
Hidalgo is the first Notre Dame player to earn the ACC’s top honor multiple times and is the fourth to receive the honor joining Jewell Loyd, Kayla McBride [Coaches’ Poll] and Brianna Turner.
Hidalgo becomes the first player in ACC history to win Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors in back-to-back seasons. The guard is the 11th player in league history to earn multiple ACC Player of the Year honors in her career and just the second to be named ACC Defensive Player of the Year three times.
Hidalgo was also named to the All-ACC First Team and All-ACC Defensive teams for the third year in a row.
The Merchantville, New Jersey, native is averaging 25.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.6 steals and 5.4 assists per game. Hidalgo is the only women’s player at the DI level since the 1999-00 season to average at least 25 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals in a game.
The junior has turned in many incredible performances this season while breaking records along the way. Hidalgo set the all-time record for steals in a game and the program’s single-game scoring record against Akron, finishing with 44 points and 16 rebounds. She has the career program scoring records for 30-point games (18), 20-point games (73) and consecutive games in double figures (96).
Hidalgo broke the program’s record for career steals (441) and season steals (162). The standout became the fastest player in ACC and program history to reach 2,000 career points, accomplishing the feat in 86 games.
In the final game of the regular season, Hidalgo recorded 30 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and five steals in a road win over No. 10 Louisville, becoming the first ACC player to have 30 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals in a game since 2001.
CASSANDRE PROSPER
The senior took a major leap in production this season and the league took notice, naming her the ACC Most Improved Player. Prosper was also selected to the All-ACC Second Team by the league’s head coaches.
Prosper is averaging career highs in points per game (14.1), rebounds per game (7.1), assists per game (1.9), steals per game (1.7), blocks per game (1.0), field-goal percentage (49.4) and three-point percentage (35.6).
The small forward has been named the USBWA National Player of the Week on two occasions, joining Hidalgo as the only two ACC players to accomplish the feat this year.
Prosper also has finished in double figures in 22 games this season and has six double-doubles, three coming with 20+ points.