SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Welcome to the triple-double club, Hannah Hidalgo.
On Thursday, Notre Dame (9-1) closed out the non-conference season with an 84-47 win over Western Michigan (5-5). Hidalgo stole the show with her first triple-double of her career — 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. She also had 5 steals. Hidalgo now has three performances of 25-5-5-5, two more than anyone else in the nation.
Western Michigan started the game on a 9-4 run thanks to a dynamic passing game. But the Irish countered with an 8-0 run to take the lead. Hidalgo had 4 steals in the first frame along with 9 points. She was tied in the points category for the game lead with Maddy Westbeld.
The second quarter was streaky from Notre Dame, as the middle of the quarter featured a scoring drought. KK Bransford made a bucket with 4:51 to go, ending a 2:36-second period with no points. The Irish finished Q2 only making a pair of their last 10 shots.
By the half, Hidalgo led all players with 17 points, shooting 7-13 from the floor. She also had 6 rebounds along with 6 from both Kylee Watson and Nat Marshall. Westbeld had 5 along with a season-high 2 blocks.
In total it was a below-average first half offensive showing from the Irish, who shot 45.9 percent. They still outscored WMU 24-14 in the paint and led 41-24.
Anna DeWolfe knocked down a trey just 20 second into the second half, but the next Irish bucket wouldn’t fall until Bransford scored from the block at 7:24. A few minutes later, with just over 4 minutes to go in the third, Notre Dame would take a 24-point lead (54-30), its largest of the game. It ended the third quarter building upon that lead, 66-37. During Q3, DeWolfe hit her fourth 3-pointer of the game, her highest mark of the season. She finished with five of them and a total of 17 points, which ties her high in a Notre Dame uniform.
The Irish finished the game on a 13-0 run, sealing a win in the final non-conference game of the year. In addition to Hidalgo’s heroics, Watson had a career-high 12 rebounds, and Bransford tied hers with 9.
The Irish are back in action on December 31 to close out the calendar year and start ACC play. Notre Dame will head to Syracuse (10-1) for a 2 p.m. tip.