LOS ANGELES — After making her debut on the Midseason Watch List a few weeks ago, Notre Dame freshman Hannah Hidalgo has officially been named to the John R. Wooden Award Late Season Top 20. The award goes to the best player in women’s college basketball and is chosen by a poll of national experts.
Earning a spot on the list comes on the heels of Hidalgo’s Saturday night 34-point performance in the 82-67 victory over No. 8 Connecticut in Storrs. She broke the single-game Irish freshman scoring record previously set in 1991 by Michelle Marciniak. It marked the second time this season Hidalgo has posted 30+ points against a top-10 team (South Carolina), and it was her third time in total putting up at least 30. That is also a program record.
The freshman leads the nation in steals (97) and steals per game (5.11) and leads the ACC in points per game (24.4) and total points (464), ranking fourth amongst all players nationally.
Hidalgo has already made history this year, breaking multiple program records including total freshman steals and ACC Rookie of the Week honors (nine). Additionally, Hidalgo has been named USBWA Tamika Catchings National Freshman of the Week three times, ACC Player of the Week twice, Naismith Women’s College Player of the Week and AP Basketball Player of the Week once. She is also on the Nancy Lieberman Top 10 (nation’s best point guard).
The Pac-12 leads all conferences with five selections on the Wooden Aware Late Season Top 20, followed by the ACC and SEC with four selections apiece.
The Wooden Award Men’s and Women’s Player of the Year will be announced and awarded on April 12, 2024. Active players who have won the award include UConn’s Paige Bueckers (2020-21) and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark (2022-23). No Notre Dame player has ever earned the honor.
Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed nearly one million dollars to the universities’ general scholarship fund in the names of the Wooden Award All American recipients and has sent more than 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with the Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) each year to host the Wooden Award Special Olympics Southern California Basketball Tournament. The day-long tournament brings together Special Olympics athletes and Wooden Award All Americans and coaches in attendance. It is hosted at the Los Angeles Athletic Club during the John R. Wooden Award Weekend.