Hannah Hidalgo scored 34 points and Liatu King earned a double-double in Notre Dame women’s basketball’s 89-71 win over the Louisville Cardinals on Sunday, Feb. 2. The Irish improve to a remarkable 19-2, including 19-0 on United States soil and 10-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
“[I’m] really proud of our team,” head coach Niele Ivey said in a statement after the game. “This is a really tough league, coming into this type of environment and being able to withstand a little run … we just locked in and started fighting.”
The Irish saw a 20-6 first-quarter lead shrink to a 36-34 deficit in the second quarter but managed to enter halftime up 39-38 thanks to a shot clock buzzer-beater from Hidalgo. The sophomore guard ended 12 for 22 from the field and 8 for 8 from the free throw line to account for her 34 points, one shy of her career high of 35 from last season against Georgia Tech.
“She led us, put the team on her back,” Ivey said of Hidalgo, who also recorded six rebounds and five assists on Sunday, the latter of which led all players. “She’s just a dog, and she came out with such fire and tenacity. Made big plays, big shots, and we really fed off her energy.”
Beyond No. 3, graduate transfer forward Liatu King notched a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, including six offensive boards. She played a critical role in Notre Dame’s ability to eventually pull away, scoring eight points on 4 of 4 shooting. The Irish won the second half 50-33.
“She has the midrange game, and she can drive,” Hidalgo said postgame of King. “She brings that leadership and that poise that we really need. And she’s a dog on the boards.”
Graduate guard Olivia Miles added 17 points on 5 for 8 shooting in her return to the KFC Yum! Center, where she tore her ACL two years ago, sinking two triples and five foul shots. Senior guard Sonia Citron (eight points) and graduate forward Liza Karlen (five) rounded out the rest of Notre Dame’s top scorers, as the Irish racked up just shy of 90 points for another double-digit win. All 19 of their victories this season have been by 10 points or more.
Notre Dame wraps up its brief road streak with three solid victories. Although Ivey believes the wins came in different ways, she acknowledged the formula for success was generally similar — the Irish battle early and pull away in the third quarter.
“I thought we found ways to win in all three of those matchups,” Ivey told reporters postgame. “I think we showed a little bit of our resilience and composure … And again, winning on the road is really tough in the ACC, and we found ways on the road to win, so credit a lot of their toughness, experience, and leadership.”
Prior to beating Louisville, the Irish went into Chestnut Hill and Blacksburg and defeated Boston College and Virginia Tech, respectively, after trailing early in both contests.
Louisville entered the game with 341 wins when scoring at least 70 points in head coach Jeff Walz’s 17-plus seasons at the helm, but the Irish handed the Cardinals only their 35th loss in such circumstances. A big difference was Notre Dame’s edge in rebounds (44-29) and field goal percentage (55% to 36%).
Walz spoke to the media after the loss about his team’s defensive and rebounding struggles this season, which Niele Ivey’s group was able to expose in the second half.
“We’re allowing teams to shoot 47% from the field on the season in league play,” Walz said. “That’s just terrible.”
The Cardinals forced 23 Irish turnovers but went the first six minutes without a rebound and were dominated in the paint to the tune of a 46-30 Irish scoring advantage. The second quarter was the only time Louisville went a consistent stretch outshooting and outrebounding Notre Dame, which allowed the Cardinals to take the lead, but the Irish clamped down on defense after to go along with spectacular shooting.
Tajianna Roberts led Louisville in scoring with 17 points, including 4 of 4 from three in the second quarter. Olivia Cochran (14 points, four rebounds) and Jayda Curry (12 points, four assists) also reached double figures for the Cardinals, while Mackenly Randolph came down with a career-best 10 boards. Louisville as a team shot only 31.3% from the field in the second half after a strong start.
Notre Dame (19-2, 10-0) will look to extend its win streak to 15 games in its next contest, as the Irish host Stanford on Thursday, Feb. 6. Tip-off at Purcell Pavilion is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN.
