No. 13 Irish Ground Skyhawks In 123-40 Victory

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The 13th-ranked Notre Dame women’s basketball team cruised to a 123-40 victory over Stonehill on Friday night inside Purcell Pavilion, improving to 2-0 on the season.

The 123 points scored were the second-most in program history and the most under Karen & Kevin Keyes Family Head Women's Basketball Coach Niele Ivey. 

Six Irish players scored in double figures, led by Hannah Hidalgo’s 27 points and 10 steals. Leah Macy added 24 of her own on 12-14 shooting, while also grabbing eight rebounds and six assists.

Jacy Abii stuffed the stat sheet in her first official home action as an Irish. The freshman scored 17 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, dished out seven assists, and accounted for six steals and blocked four shots.

Notre Dame put together a sizzling shooting performance, knocking down 51 of 82 attempts from the field (62.2 percent). The 51 made field goals set a new program record, surpassing the previous mark of 48, which the Irish reached twice before against Valparaiso on Dec. 4, 2016, and Pittsburgh on Jan. 17, 2012.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Notre Dame opened the home season with a 17-5 start, including an 11-1 run that forced a Stonehill timeout not even five minutes into the game. All five Irish starters scored in the first bit of early action, led by five from Madison St. Rose. Notre Dame was 8-10 from the field to open the game, including 7-7 from two point range.

The Irish led 30-10 at the end of the first quarter. Notre Dame was dominant on the glass early, outrebounding Stonehill 18-3 in the opening frame, led by seven from Anaya Hardy.  Eight of Notre Dame’s rebounds were offensive, as the Irish made their presence known down low with 16 points in the paint in the first quarter.

Jenica Lewis opened the second quarter with her first three of the night, part of an 11-0 run to open the second quarter for Notre Dame. After a Skyhawks bucket, the Irish ran out to a 16-0 run, outscoring Stonehill 27-2 in just over six minutes of action in the second quarter. 

The Irish went into the locker room up 67-21, the third-most points scored in a half in program history. All five Irish starters were in double digits, led by 15 from Hidalgo and 14 from Macy, while Hardy notched a first half double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Notre Dame was 31-47 in the first half, a blistering 66 percent from the field. Those 31 field goals made were the most first half makes underIvey, besting the 25 first-half field goals last season against Bellarmine and two years ago against Stephen F. Austin.

The Irish extended their lead to 57 points with 4:36 left in the third quarter, up 81-24 at the media timeout. Abii was the second Irish to record a double-double in this one, ripping down her 10th rebound to go along with 12 points with just under a quarter and a half left.

Notre Dame closed the quarter on a 7-0 run to go up 95-30 at the end of three. Macy led the way with eight points in the quarter, followed closely by six from both Hidalgo and Lewis.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Lewis converted a layup off the glass on an assist from Amari Byles, giving the Irish their 49th made field goal of the game and setting a new program record. 

UP NEXT

The Irish return home on Tuesday for a clash against Detroit Mercy at 7 p.m. ET on ACCNX.