SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Pressure? Handled.
On Sunday, No. 18 Notre Dame (12-3, 3-2) topped scrappy, relentless Miami (11-5, 1-4) by a score of 70-59. The Irish had a rather comfortable lead throughout the game, successfully navigating a usually suffocating Miami press. The Hurricanes entered Sunday’s game with the fourth best scoring defense in the ACC (57.1).
“We knew it was going to be a battle for 40 minutes with the way that Miami pressures, so the fact that we came out and took care of business, I was really happy,” Karen and Kevin Keyes Family Head Coach Niele Ivey said after the game.
Hannah Hidalgo once again led the Irish, finishing the game with 25 points, 7 rebounds and 7 steals. The rookie sensation now has 13 games this season with at least 20 points, tying Irish Ring of Honor member Beth Morgan Cunningham for the freshman record. Hidalgo also now has eight games with at least 6 steals, tying other Irish Ring of Honor member Skylar Diggins-Smith for career games with 6+ steals. Hidalgo is just 15 games into her collegiate career.
“It’s unbelievable what she’s doing,” Ivey added.
The first quarter was a back and forth affair with a lead no greater than 5 for either team. After a series of quiet games, Marshall scored Notre Dame’s first 4 points via her specialty jumper. The Miami turnovers were the story on the other end of the court. The Hurricanes turned the ball over 6 times in Q1, and 7 of Notre Dame’s 15 points came off those blunders. The Irish bench actually outscored the starters in the first quarter, 8-7. It was 15-13 in favor of the home team after 10.
The ACC’s top scoring offense returned to its scoring ways in the second frame. After Miami dropped it in for a bucket, Notre Dame went on a 10-0 run courtesy of two shots from Hidalgo, a trey from Sonia Citron and an and-1 from Bransford. While the Hurricanes closed the gap to six at 28-22, the Irish would go on yet another 10-0 run and had a 40-24 lead at the break. They shot 52.9 percent from the floor and nailed a pair of 3-pointers courtesy of Citron.
Going into the locker room, Hidalgo and Bransford led all players with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Bransford was 3-4 from the floor and 4-5 from the line. Bransford is second on the team when it comes to getting to the line this year despite missing the year’s first two games with an injury (51).
Notre Dame held on in the second half despite a subpar overall job from the floor. The Irish went 8-27 between Q3 and Q4 (29.6 percent), and the Hurricanes actually outscored them 35-30 to close it out. Hidalgo’s 14 points in the second half were critical down the stretch, as was Notre Dame’s free throw shooting (12-12).
After 60, Notre Dame had scored 31 points off of Miami’s 26 turnovers. That is the highest mark reached this season in an ACC game. In addition to Hidalgo, Citron finished with 15 points — including 3-5 from deep — and Bransford had 10 points. It is Bransford’s third consecutive game in double figures.
“I thought KK was a huge spark for us,” Ivey said with emphasis. “She was such a positive light, both defensively and offensively. She showed great poise, was really aggressive offensively, and did a great job on the boards.”
Bransford had 8 rebounds on the afternoon, tied for the most she’s ever had in conference play.
Notre Dame heads back on the road for its next two contests, traveling to Virginia on Thursday and Wake Forest on Sunday.