Another night, another 100-point game for Notre Dame women’s basketball.
After hanging 105 on Mercyhurst in last Monday’s season-opening win, the Irish took their showcase to Mackey Arena and gave in-state foe Purdue all it could handle. The result? A 102-58 Notre Dame dismantling of the Boilermakers.
In their first road game of the young season, the Irish found themselves in the win column long before the 44-point margin went final in West Lafayette. Senior guard Sonia Citron, a preseason All-ACC selection, took the floor for warmups in full capacity. Citron had missed both the Oct. 30 exhibition against Davenport and the Mercyhurst game with a nagging lower-body ailment, but she would make the start against the Boilermakers.
Forty minutes later, she ended the night as one of four Notre Dame scorers to exceed 10 points. Riding a well-balanced offense that posted a 50.6-44.4-80.0 shooting percentage line and signature performances from their stars, the Irish rolled. They now carry a 2-0 record into the season’s second week of play.
Sunday’s game kept a tied score for all of 13 seconds before sophomore guard Hannah Hidalgo gave the Irish a 2-0 lead that would sustain by plenty. Just a minute into her return, Citron nailed a three-pointer, and graduate forward Liatu King followed with a self-created second-chance bucket. In the blink of an eye, Notre Dame had nine points and Purdue nothing with three minutes having gone by.
The onslaught would continue with seven Hidalgo points in a two-minute, 20-second sequence. At the first quarter’s end, Hidalgo had 11 points and three steals, factoring heavily into Notre Dame’s 28-7 advantage. The Irish also sourced offensive rebounds from six different players, with graduate guard Olivia Miles — the lone player who didn’t grab one — hauling in four boards on the defensive end to complement six points.
Purdue would come out more competitively in quarter two, holding the Irish scoreless for more than two and half minutes to start. Midway through the quarter, the Boilermakers embarked on a 12-4 run fueled by Destini Lombard’s two steals and 3-for-3 effort from the field. However, Notre Dame put the hammer down with its lead shrunk to 36-21, scoring the first half’s final nine points to carry a 45-21 edge into the break.
With 20 minutes down, King’s numbers really began to pop off the page. The Pittsburgh transfer was already on the precipice of a second straight double-double (she would get it) with eight points and 12 rebounds. Feasting on the fruits of King’s labor in the paint, the Irish outrebounded the Boilermakers 33-12 in the first half alone.
Both teams returned to the hardwood guns blazing to start the second half, combining for 23 points in a two-minute stretch. Notre Dame made sure to keep its lead in good health, carrying a 63-33 advantage into the half-quarter media timeout. It would later rise to 75-42, a score the Irish gladly would have taken into the fourth, with 26 seconds left. But Miles had other plans.
Coming off a triple-double six days earlier in her first college basketball game since Feb. 26, 2023, Miles had already put on a show at Purdue. Some of her first-half passes, including one that resembled snapping a football from the defensive free-throw line into the frontcourt, defied all logic. Her shot to end the third quarter did just the same. Racing up to the timeline on a feed from freshman forward Kate Koval, Miles heaved a perfect half-court shot that beat the buzzer. As jaws hit the floor all over Mackey, Notre Dame upped its lead to 36 entering the fourth quarter.
The final 10 minutes belonged to Hidalgo, who notched eight points and three rebounds. The second-year phenom capped the evening with 28 points, seven rebounds, six steals and two assists on an efficient, 10-for-20 make rate from the field. Meanwhile, King’s double-double featured 18 points and 15 rebounds, continuing her prolific start to her Irish career. Citron tacked on 14 points, while Koval contributed eight points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. Sophomore guard Emma Risch also bounced back well from a tough season opener with nine points at Purdue.
On the heels of her triple-double, Miles’ 17 points and five rebounds were enough to get her across the finish line for ACC Player of the Week honors. While only two games against weak opponents have passed, Notre Dame fans have to be thrilled with the way Miles and Hidalgo have not only coexisted but thrived together in the backcourt.
The Irish will return to Purcell Pavilion with a 7 p.m. tip-off against James Madison on Wednesday.
