Irish Down Orange In Regular-Season Home Finale, 72-62
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Fighting Irish sent the seniors out in fashion on Thursday evening inside Purcell Pavilion on Senior Night, claiming a 72-62 win over Syracuse.
The victory improves Notre Dame’s record to 19-9 on the season and 11-6 in ACC play. Notre Dame finishes with a record of 14-2 at home in regular-season play.
Hannah Hidalgo continued her storybook season, scoring a game-high 27 points to go along with eight rebounds, seven assists and seven steals. The guard has now scored 25 or more points in three straight games.
Cassandre Prosper had a notable performance, scoring 16 points to go along with seven rebounds, two assists and a block. Malaya Cowles also finished in double figures, scoring 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The opening 10 minutes was a back-and-forth affair, as it was a one-possession game the entire first quarter. Syracuse led by three at 16-13 with a minute left in the first frame before Hidalgo had back-to-back steals that led to fastbreak layups followed by a put back right before the buzzer by Bransford to give Notre Dame a 19-16 lead at the end of the quarter.
After the Orange opened the second quarter with a bucket to cut the lead to one, the Irish scored the next six points to go on top 25-18. Syracuse answered with eight straight points of their own to retake the lead at 26-25 with just over 6 minutes left in the half.
The score moved to 32-31 in favor of the visitors before Notre Dame ended the second stanza with a 6-0 run to take a 37-32 lead into the halftime intermission.
Hidalgo led the way with 14 points at the break and was joined in double-figure scoring by Prosper who had 10 over the first 20 minutes of action.
The Irish came out in the third quarter and quickly pushed the lead to double-digits at 43-33 within the first 2 minutes of play.
The Orange utilized a 13-2 run over a 5-minute stretch to comeback and take a one-point lead at 48-47 in the final minute of the third. Notre Dame scored the final points of the quarter off a layup from Cowles to take a 49-48 into the final 10 minutes of regulation.
A jumper from Hidalgo followed by a three-pointer from Vanessa de Jesus quickly pushed the lead back up to six early in the fourth. Syracuse cut the lead to four on two occasions within the first three minutes of the final frame before the Irish slowly took control of the game.
Notre Dame led by six with 2:30 left in the contest and then scored seven of the final 10 points to come away with the 72-62.
NOTRE DAME STAT OF THE GAME
Hidalgo became just the second player in the country this season to record at least 20 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and seven steals in a game this season, joining Liv McGill from Florida. Furthermore, Hidalgo is just the third player to achieve that stat line in a major conference game since the 1999-00 season.
NOTRE DAME NOTES
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The Irish improved to 41-6 against Syracuse in the all-time series.
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Notre Dame has won six of its last seven games, each victory by 10 or more points.
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Opponents have recorded 20 or more turnovers against the Irish in four straight games and 15 total times during the 2025-26.
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Notre Dame finished with 10 steals, marking the 22nd time the team has recorded double-digit steals in a game this season.
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With 27 points, Hidalgo has scored 20+ points in 21 games this season and 72 games in her career, which is the program record.
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Hidalgo has finished in double figures in the scoring column in all 94 games of her career, the longest streak in program history.
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Prosper finished in double figures scoring for the 22nd time this season
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Cowles’ 13-point night marked the 11th time this season she has finished with double-digit points.
UP NEXT
The Irish wrap up the regular season on the road, taking on No. 10 Louisville at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 1 inside the Yum Center. The game will air on ESPN2.
