Hannah Hidalgo’s Notre Dame Fighting Irish were beaten 70-52 by the UConn Huskies in the Elite Eight. Notre Dame (25-11) came into the game high on confidence, but were no match for the unbeaten Huskies (38-0).
Hidalgo continued her strong run of performances, putting up 22 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, and three steals. She was the only Notre Dame player who reached double digits in scoring.
With Notre Dame’s season done, speculation ramped up about Hidalgo potentially entering the transfer portal next month in search of better winning opportunities. However, after the loss to UConn, Hidalgo hinted that she has no plans to leave Notre Dame and was focused on returning next season.
“I think it gives us motivation,” she said. “It will be a different roster than it was this year, completely different. We finally got over that hump. We didn’t do that for two years of the first three years that I’ve been here.”
Hidalgo joined the program in 2023 and has improved each year. This season, she averaged 25.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 5.7 steals per game. While her three-point shooting and turnovers were major problems, she made up for them in every other aspect.
Hannah Hidalgo on Being Familiar With High-Level Competition
This was Notre Dame’s 11th Elite Eight appearance. They haven’t been this deep into the NCAA Tournament since 2019. While they would’ve liked to advance to the Final Four, even reaching this stage is a huge accomplishment for the Fighting Irish.
The reason this matters so much to Hidalgo and the program is that it will set the blueprint for next season’s roster.
“The people coming in next year, they’re going to have to raise their level because we know what it feels like to get to the Elite 8, and now we’re going to have to get over that hump,” she said.
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