Hannah Hidalgo joins elite list in Notre Dame history with WNBA star Skylar Diggins-Smith
Hannah Hidalgo led with 24 points, five assists and three steals as No. 3 Notre Dame defeated No. 21 California 91-52 on Sunday. The guard shot 50.0% from the field and 4 of 5 from the 3-point line, making for her 14th consecutive game with more than 20 points.
Hidalgo also tied program legend and Seattle Storm star Skylar Diggins-Smith for fourth place on the all-time list of most 20-plus-point games (45).
Diggins-Smith grabbed the spot in 150 games, averaging 15.7 points on 44.8% shooting throughout her time with the Fighting Irish. Hidalgo did it in 55 games, averaging 23.8 points on 46.7% efficiency.
Hannah Hidalgo also grabbed her 83rd steal of the season, tying Coquese Washington for most interceptions as a sophomore.
Hidalgo currently leads Notre Dame's all-time leaderboard in usage percentage (31.2), steals per game (4.4), player efficiency (35.1), points per game (23.8) and other advanced categories.
The guard became the quickest player in program history to touch 1000 points in December, overshadowing Beth Morgan's 60 games with her 44 outings. With that, Hidalgo is en route to potentially becoming the all-time scoring leader for the Fighting Irish.
"It’s truly a blessing to be able to reach that goal considering all of the guards like Arike (Ogunbowale), Skylar (Diggins-Smith), Jewell (Loyd) that have come through this program. I’m honored to have this accolade," Hidalgo said after reaching the 1000-point milestone.
Hannah Hidalgo leads JuJu Watkins, Paige Bueckers and other stars on the NCAA leaderboard
Hannah Hidalgo's 2024-25 average of 26.0 points overtakes stars like JuJu Watkins (23.9 ppg), Paige Bueckers (18.7 ppg), Flau'jae Johnson (19.9 ppg), Lauren Betts (20.2 ppg) and more for the second spot on the NCAA season's scoring leaderboard.
She is ranked second on the list, behind Florida State's Ta'Niya Latson's 26.2 points per game. However, Hidalgo's second spot figures become more impactful when considering the Seminoles' level of opponents so far.
FSU played its first ranked game on Jan. 12, totaling three games against AP-ranked teams till now. While Latson maintained has scored significantly in these contests, it falls behind Notre Dame's seven ranked games, starting from Nov. 23.
All of Florida State's contests were against teams outside of the top 12 bracket whereas the Fighting Irish have won all three games against a top 5 UConn, USC and Texas. It is a major reason Hannah Hidalgo is constantly placed ahead of Ta'Niya Latson in the Player of the Year conversations.