GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands — No. 3 Notre Dame (5-1) took a lead into the fourth quarter on Friday against No. 17 TCU (7-0) but could not hold on, falling 76-68 in the first of two games they will play in the Cayman Islands Classic.
The Irish got off to a hot start with an 11-point run and took a 13-5 lead before a TCU timeout with 6:03 to go in the first frame. The group then went cold from there and finished the quarter 8-21 from the floor with just one shot knocked down from deep.
Notre Dame took a 35-29 advantage into halftime after the Horned Frogs won Q2, 18-14. Hidalgo led all players with 16 at the break, and King led the Irish with 7 rebounds. Miles’ game inside of the lane was taken away, but she had a pair of triples after 20 minutes.
Notre Dame extended the lead in the second half as high as 14 with 3:03 left in the third quarter and ended Q3 with a 56-45 advantage. The Horned Frogs battled back with a dominant final quarter and tied the game at 61 with 5:01 left. They ultimately outscored the Irish 31-12 and hit four shots from beyond the arc. Notre Dame went 5-20 from the floor to finish the game.
Hidalgo led all players with 27 points. King posted another double-digit rebounding performance, finishing with 8 points and 13 boards.
Notre Dame finishes its trip to the Cayman Islands with a Saturday evening game against Utah. The game tips off on FloCollege.com at 5 p.m. The Irish are 3-0 all-time against the Utes.