Hidalgo Headlines USBWA Weekly Honors After 30-Point Games

INDIANAPOLIS — Following a successful week complete with two 30-point games and a pair of road ACC wins, Hannah Hidalgo has earned U.S. Basketball Writers Association weekly honors for the third time this year. The All-American guard helped lead the third-ranked Irish to double-digit wins at Virginia Tech and Louisville to complete a 10-0 start in ACC play for the nation’s No. 3 team. On Monday, Hidalgo was also named the ACC Player of the Week for the fourth time this season.

In Blacksburg, Hidalgo had 30 points, 5 assists and 3 steals in a 10-16 showing from the floor and 7-7 day at the charity stripe in a 77-61 win. Against the Cardinals on Sunday, a rivalry contest Notre Dame won 89-71, Hidalgo had a season-high 34 points plus 6 rebounds and 5 assists. She went 8-8 from the line, giving her a perfect 15-15 on the week.

There were just three 30-point games in the ACC last week, and Hidalgo had two of them. She also was the only player in the country with a pair of 30-point games last week.

The sophomore now has nine games in her career with 30+ points, second in Notre Dame history only to Arike Ogunbowale. Hidalgo also has five career games with 30 points and 5 assists, tied for the second most in the ACC in the last 25 years. Finally, Hidalgo and Jewell Loyd are the only Irish players with back-to-back 30-point games in the last 25 years. Hidalgo has done it twice (Georgia Tech and UConn last season).

Hidalgo continues to pace the ACC with 4.1 steals per game this season and sits second with 26.1 points per game. She’s been highly efficient from the floor as well with a 50.1 field goal percentage and a 42.5 percent success rate from beyond the arc, both of which are top-10 in the ACC.