Notre Dame came just a few points shy of taking down the ACC Women's Basketball Tournament Champion, Duke Blue Devils, in their semifinal matchup. Unable to tie or take the lead in two possessions before the time expired, the Irish fell to the eventual champions, ending their run in the tournament.
Even though they didn't win it all in the ACC Tournament, Hidalgo played out of her mind the entire week and was a big reason the Irish made it so far. Now, Notre Dame is making it known that they believe Hidalgo deserves to be the National Player of the Year, and they are doing it in the best way possible.
Notre Dame put up billboards in all the cities of the power conference tournaments, so the ACC, SEC, Big 12, Big Ten, and Big East. These billboards have Hidalgo on them with a slew of words describing her play and with the word "Complete" in the middle, meaning she is the complete player.
Now that is one way to brand your player.
Notre Dame put up billboards campaigning for Hannah Hidalgo’s National Player of the Year candidacy in the cities of every major conference tournament site — ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Big East. This is the one for the ACC in Duluth, Ga.
— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) March 7, 2026
Hidalgo played like the POY this week. pic.twitter.com/CNhNRObblp
Hannah Hidalgo played out of her mind in the ACC Tournament
In order for Notre Dame to truly have a chance at an ACC title, Hidalgo had to bring her A game, and she did just that. The star junior averaged 25.6 points per game over the three games played in the tournament, and totalled 11 steals over three games, 12 assists, and 21 rebounds. Hidalgo also averaged shooting 52.1% from the floor, making her the leading scorer for the Irish.
Against Duke, Hidalgo even set another Notre Dame milestone by passing Skyler Diggins on the all-time scoring list for the Irish, and now only Arike Ogunbowale stands in her way. With the entire NCAA Tournament and another season hopefully in South Bend, Hidalgo can easily pass her.
Hidalgo certainly has played all season like she is in the running for National Player of the Year, and she certainly has made the case to be. Averaging 25.2 points per game on the season as well as 6.4 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 5.4 steals, it would be a disgrace if Hidalgo isn't in the conversation.