SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame needed a statement first half. The Irish delivered.
On Thursday, the nation’s No. 3 team moved to 20-2 on the year and 11-0 in the ACC, defeating Stanford (11-11, 3-8), 96-47. It was the largest loss in Cardinal women’s basketball history, the eighth largest margin of victory for Notre Dame in a conference game since joining the ACC, and was once again a team effort on both ends of the floor. Hannah Hidalgo paced Notre Dame with 24 points and went 9-10 from the field to close out the game. Olivia Miles had another 20-point showing with four treys and added 7 boards and 4 assists. Liatu King had 8 points, 8 rebounds and 5 swipes.
Both offenses were quiet to start, as the Irish went 3-10 from the floor and Stanford was 2-8. Miles had 5 of Notre Dame’s first 9 points, but the Irish defense was the story. Notre Dame forced 10 first quarter turnovers, including 5 steals by five different players, and had 11 points off of them. The Irish had a 17-8 lead after 10.
Notre Dame lit up the scoreboard in the second quarter with 33 points and 9 more forced turnovers to make the total 19 for the visitors at the half. Maddy Westbeld got the party started with a 7-0 run for herself, including a triple. The Irish put together a 20-0 run and stretched the lead to 44-13.
The Irish outscored the Cardinal 33-7 and had a 50-15 lead at the half, their largest lead over an ACC team at halftime since 2019. They ended the first 20 minutes on a 26-2 run and had 12 steals. They entered Thursday night averaging 11.5 per game. Hidalgo, Miles and Westbeld had 11 points each, and Westbeld was 5-5 from the floor.
“I thought they took better shots and we executed better,” Karen and Kevin Keyes Family Head Coach Niele Ivey said of the improvement after Q1. “We got a couple of actions, some pindowns. In transition we had a chance to get downhill, get better touches and get inside the paint.”
Notre Dame started the third on a triple from Miles, who was 4-4 from deep at the time. The Irish finished with 26 points in Q3, 11 of which came from Hidalgo, after a 22-9 run to start the frame.
“When you’re hurt, and especially hurt as bad as I was, there’s really not much you can do other than shoot,” Miles said of her 3-point improvement after ACL surgery. “I took the time to rep those shots and gain confidence and trust in myself. Might as well let it fly.”
Cassandre Prosper forced Cardinal defensive blunders all game but came alive in the fourth quarter offensively with two buckets, including a triple from the corner. She finished with 13 points.
“Cass is playing amazing right now,” Ivey said. “She was a great spark off the bench.”
At the buzzer, Notre Dame had forced 29 turnovers and scored 45 points off them, both season highs. The Irish went 36-65 from the floor (55.4 percent) and 9-17 from deep (52.9 percent). The Irish had 16 steals and recorded a swipe on the first possession in three of four quarters.
Notre Dame hosts No. 21 California (19-5, 7-4) on Sunday for its next contest. The teams last faced off in the 2022 Citi Shamrock Classic in St. Louis, and Notre Dame is 3-0 all-time against the Golden Bears. Sunday’s game will air on the ACC Network at 2 p.m.