Notre Dame outlasts Florida State in double overtime thriller
The third time was a charm for Notre Dame freshman point guard Hannah Hidalgo.
Hidalgo attempted close-range shots just before the regulation and first overtime buzzers against Florida State in Tallahassee on Sunday. She missed both times, the second misfire coming much closer to ending the game than the first. Ultimately, she finished things where she was at her best all day — from the free throw line.
Hidalgo was in the right place at the right time when Notre Dame senior center Kylee Watson deflected a Florida State inbounds pass with less than five seconds remaining in the second overtime period. She took the ball into offensive territory and was fouled with 1.9 seconds left. She hit both freebies, her 12th and 13th foul shot makes of the afternoon, to seal a 98-94 victory for the visiting Irish.
Hidalgo did not have a banner day shooting from the field; she was 7-of-25 on her way to a team-high 27 points. The Irish shot 37.1 percent as a team compared to a 50 percent clip for the Seminoles.
Like they did at Louisville three days prior, the Irish fell behind by double digits in the first quarter. This time, though, they woke up just enough offensively to nudge their noses ahead of the opposition at the finish line — a checkered flag that came 10 minutes later than anticipated.
Notre Dame might’ve won in regulation if not for a magnificent performance from FSU sophomore guard Ta’Niya Latson, who led all scorers with 34 points. She shot 14-of-25 from the floor and added 8 assists and 7 rebounds. Hidalgo filled up the stat sheet as as usual as well; she had 9 assists, 7 rebounds and 5 steals.
Both teams only had 8 bench points. The high-scoring affair was squarely on the shoulders of the starting fives from each team. Notre Dame graduate student guard Anna DeWolfe had her best game in a Blue & Gold uniform with 24 points. She made 6-of-9 shots from three-point range after the Irish went 2-of-18 as a team in the loss to Louisville. DeWolfe kept the Irish within striking distance early, scoring 13 points in the first half.
Senior forward Maddy Westbeld had 19 points for the Irish, and junior guard Sonia Citron chipped in with 18. Citron made a pair of free throws with 4.5 seconds left to give Notre Dame the lead for good before Hidalgo put the finishing touches on the win. Hidalgo was 13-of-14 from the line. The rest of Notre Dame’s team was 3-of-4.
