After spending last year as one half of a talented duo, this year's version of the Notre Dame women's basketball team is all Hannah Hidalgo's. She demonstrated that in spades in the Fighting Irish's last outing as she lit up the scoreboard while also setting a new record on the defensive side of the court.
While most college basketball analysts expect Niele Ivey's team to take a step back after losing several weapons, including Olivia Miles, so far, there's been no drop-off. In fact, so far, one could argue that the team will be even better as everyone on the squad knows that the offense goes through Hidalgo. It certainly went through her on Wednesday night.
Notre Dame improved to 3-0 on the season with an 85–58 win over Akron. Hidalgo scored in bunches, leading both teams with 44 points against the Zips. However, while that's eyebrow-raising enough, it's her 16 steals that set a new NCAA record.
Hannah Hidalgo makes her case for POY in Notre Dame record breaking performance
Hidalgo's 16 steals broke the record of 14 held previously by several players, most recently another ACC star in the form of Georgia Tech's Jill Ingram in February 2008. It's impressive enough that the Notre Dame guard broke through, but she really left it in the dust considering it's been 17 years since anyone came close to the evening she had on Wednesday. Hidalgo was far from the only person nabbing steals for the Irish. Notre Dame had 30 steals among Akron's 38 turnovers, resulting in 41 points.
Hannah Hidalgo is off to the kind of start to the season that could make her a top candidate for National Player of the Year. After three games this season, she's averaging 34.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 7.7 steals per game.
Hopefully, her performance will also convince pollsters that Notre Dame deserves more respect. The Irish dropped a couple of spots in the Top 25 this week despite winning two games by an average of 50 points.