No. 2 TCU
Women's Basketball
ATLANTA — The accolades keep coming for an Irish backcourt headed to the Sweet 16 this week.
On Tuesday, the Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Association named Hannah Hidalgo a finalist for the Wade Trophy, which is given by the organization to the nation’s best player in college women’s basketball. She was also named a finalist for the Naismith Trophy, given by the Atlanta Tip Off Club to the nation’s best women’s player.
Additionally, Sonia Citron and Olivia Miles were named finalists for this season’s 10-member WBCA NCAA Division I Coaches’ All-America Team.
Hidalgo is pacing the Irish this season on both ends of the court. She leads the team with 24.1 points and 3.7 steals per game, marks that both rank fourth in the nation.
The 5-6 guard has already re-written portions of the Irish record book, too. At the ACC Tournament, Hidalgo joined Irish legend Arike Ogunbowale as the only players in Notre Dame history to post multiple 700-point seasons. She also has 115 steals this year, the sophomore record. It is just the fourth time in program history a Notre Dame player has had a 100-steal season. Hidalgo did it last year as well (160).
Miles is averaging 15.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game. She is the only player in the nation averaging 15-5-5 while shooting greater than 40 percent from deep. In the last 15 years, Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu are the only other players to achieve that feat.
Additionally, Miles leads the nation with three triple-doubles this season and became the first player in ACC history with back-to-back triple-doubles (Loyola and Virginia). Her 20-point triple-double in Notre Dame’s opener against Mercyhurst came on the heels of a year off while rehabbing a torn ACL, making her the first player in NBA, WNBA or college basketball player in history to sit out for a year due to injury and post a 20-point triple-double in their first game back.
Citron has quietly stuffed the stat sheet nearly every time she takes the floor this year. She is posting 14.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. In the last 10 games, those numbers jump to 16.7 points and 5.8 rebounds with a 55.6 success rate from the floor.