LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Thursday night saw another record fall to Hannah Hidalgo, but Notre Dame will want to forget the final collective result.
No. 15 Louisville (20-4, 9-2) remains undefeated at home this season after the Cardinals defended their homecourt against the 12th-ranked Irish (17-5, 7-4) with a 73-66 win. Hidalgo dropped 30 points for the fifth time this season and broke the Irish rookie scoring record. That mark was held by Shari Matvey and set in 1979-80.
Notre Dame started off slow, allowing the Cardinals to jump out to a 13-2 lead. Anna DeWolfe was responsible for the only pair of Irish points, notching them at the free throw line. Notre Dame called a timeout and allowed just one bucket for the final 5 minutes of the quarter. KK Bransford banked in a pair of jump shots and ended the frame leading all scorers with 6 points. Sonia Citron had 5 boards. She entered the game averaging 4.8 per game.
The second quarter was slow to start as well, as Citron hit the first Notre Dame basket of the quarter at 7:53. But the Irish defense kept the game close; Louisville had 5 turnovers before the media break. The Cardinals took a 30-29 lead into the locker room. Forty of the 59 first half points were scored in the paint.
Nyla Harris was the game’s only scorer going into the break (12). Preseason All-ACC post Olivia Cochran was held scoreless. Hidalgo led Notre Dame with 8, while Citron had 5 points and 6 boards. She had Notre Dame’s only 3-pointer in the first half.
Hidalgo started taking over for Notre Dame in the second half, scoring 6 via a pair of layups and free throws. Louisville went up 10 before the Irish went on an 8-3 run, 7 of which were scored by Hidalgo. She also had 4 steals in Q3 alone. But Notre Dame couldn’t get many other stops and allowed offensive rebound after offensive rebound. The Irish entered the final frame down by 8.
Louisville started the fourth scoring 14 points in the first 5:30 of the quarter, including three straight 3-pointers on 3 straight shot attempts . The game looked to be over for Notre Dame before they held the Cardinals scoreless from the floor for nearly 5 minutes. But the rally was not enough, and Notre Dame suffered its fifth loss of the season.
Up next, the Irish are back on the road as they face Florida State on Sunday at the Tucker Center. Notre Dame is 12-1 all-time against the Seminoles and 4-1 on the road.