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Newsstand: Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo named top three player in country by ESPN

IMG_9992by: Tyler Horka21 hours agotbhorka
hannah hidalgo
MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

ESPN released a list of the top three players in NCAA women’s basketball on Wednesday. Notre Dame junior guard Hannah Hidalgo came in at No. 3 behind UConn’s Sarah Strong and UCLA’s Lauren Betts, two front court players, making Hidalgo the best guard in the game.

There’s one caveat — injured players were not included, so USC’s JuJu Watkins was left off the list. She probably would have been atop the whole chart if she was healthy.

Still, Watkins had her crack at Hidalgo and the Fighting Irish in Los Angeles last November. The Irish beat the Trojans, 74-61. Hidalgo and Watkins led their respective teams with 24 points apiece.

USC heads to South Bend this season. The rematch is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET on Friday, Nov. 21, the night before the Irish football team hosts Syracuse for Senior Day at Notre Dame Stadium.

In the meantime, Hidalgo and the Irish put forth their first look of the 2025-26 season with an exhibition against Purdue Northwest at Purcell Pavilion tonight at 7 p.m. ET.

Notre Dame social media posts of the day

Hidalgo’s career statistics through two seasons are worthy of the recognition she received from ESPN.

Name a better match than Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame.

The Fighting Irish football team’s coach’s families celebrated Halloween after practice this week before making a trip to Boston this weekend.

Fighting Irish quote of the day

“I think there’s a lot on a quarterback’s plate as it is, and I want to handle as much as I can and as much as the offense needs me to handle. That’s what’s been going on with some of the run checks and the pass checks and the protections and it’s been good.”

— Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr on if there’s been more responsibilities on his shoulders each week as the season has gone alone

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