No. 2 UConn is undefeated no more. Hannah Hidalgo had something to do with it.
The Notre Dame star posted 29 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and three steals to lead the No. 8 Fighting Irish in a 79-68 win over the Huskies on Thursday. UConn, now 8-1, entered Thursday as one of eight undefeated teams left in the AP poll.
Hidalgo’s performance included a step-back, buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the third quarter.
That shot was part of a 9-0 run between the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth, which wound up being the game for Notre Dame. The Irish had led by as many as 13 points earlier in the game, but the lead was down to one point before the run started.
In addition to Hidalgo, Liatu King had a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, plus two assists and three steals. Notre Dame held UConn, which was without Azzi Fudd, to just 3-of-16 shooting from deep and only gave them five trips to the free throw line.
Since the back-to-back losses that knocked them out of the top five of the AP rankings, Notre Dame has now notched two wins over top-five teams. The Irish beat No. 4 Texas last week in overtime as part of the SEC/ACC Challenge, to go with their win over No. 3 USC earlier this month.
That’s a pretty strong collection of non-conference wins. Notre Dame begins its ACC schedule on Dec. 29 against Virginia before a road clash with No. 14 North Carolina on Jan. 5.
