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Notre Dame

Hannah Hidalgo makes history, sets new record for most steals in a game vs. Akron

Barkley-Truaxby: Barkley Truax7 hours agoBarkleyTruax
notre dame hannah hidalgo
Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Hannah Hidalgo (3) reacts in the first half against the Louisville Cardinals at the Purcell Pavilion. (Photo by Matt Cashore-Imagn Images)

Hannah Hidalgo set the record for most steals in a Division I college basketball game against Akron on Wednesday. The Notre Dame superstar finished the game with 16 steals.

The junior also logged 44 points, nine rebounds and four assists across 28 minutes of action. The Fighting Irish would go on to defeat the Zips 85-58 to improve to 3-0 on the young season.

Her 44 points are the most in a single game for Notre Dame in program history. The previous record was set by Jewell Loyd during the 2014-15 season.

Hidalgo doubled her previous career-best of steals in a single game with 12. That came in the second game of her career with the Irish during the 2023-24 season. Wednesday’s performance of 16 steals came two years to the date that Hidalgo set the program record of 12 steals in a single game.

“I was always told that defense wins championships,” Hidalgo said during SportsCenter on ESPN2 after the game. “So really just taking pride in locking up defensively and just getting my points, getting stops and running in transition.”

She’s gone on to have at least seven steals in a game four other times in her career, with three coming during her true freshman season. She’s also had one eight-steal game.

The record continues a stellar start to the season for Hidalgo. Coming in, she ranked second in the country in scoring with 29.5 points per game, while also doing a little bit of everything else with 7.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists through the first two games of the season. She’s doing so at a 51.1% clip. She shot 16-25 (64%) during the win over Akron on Wednesday.

During her last matchup, Hidalgo also flirted with a triple-double. She finished with 32 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and four steals during an impressive 116-58 win over Chicago State.

It’s going to be a quick turnaround for Notre Dame in their next matchup. The Fighting Irish are set to battle Michigan in a battle between two top-25 teams in the Shamrock Classic on Saturday afternoon. After that, they’re set to take on a top-10 ranked USC team the following Friday.

“I think right now, (I’m) celebrating the moment,” Hidalgo said. “I thank God for the victory, and I was able to celebrate with my teammates. And then tomorrow, it’s on to the next. We’ve really got to lock in at practice and focus on the scout. … But you know, it’s on to the next.”