Notre Dame women’s basketball enters the NCAA Tournament with a point to prove, and sophomore guard Hannah Hidalgo says the Fighting Irish’s toughness — and her own — stems from something personal: her New Jersey roots.
“I think it could definitely be a ‘Jersey’ thing,” Hidalgo said, as reported by Curt Rallo of the Associated Press. “We play with … just this grit, and we play with this chip on our shoulders. And you know, that’s important. I know for me, coming from Jersey, playing with boys, I know it definitely gave me that chip on my shoulder. But I think (our toughness) is different. Jersey girls are just different.”
Notre Dame, the No. 3 seed in the Albany 1 region, will face 14th-seeded Stephen F. Austin on Friday. The Irish (26-5) are looking to bounce back after losing three of their last five games. But they remain dangerous behind the backcourt of Hidalgo and graduate guard Olivia Miles, who have been central to the team’s identity and success all season.
Hannah Hidalgo, Olivia Miles formidable duo for Notre Dame women’s basketball
Hidalgo leads Notre Dame with 24.2 points and 3.7 steals per game, ranking fourth in the nation in both categories. Meanwhile, another New Jersey native, Miles, averages 16.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game and leads the ACC in assists. Together, they form one of the top backcourts in the country, a duo that impressed UConn head coach Geno Auriemma when the Irish beat the Huskies 79-68 in December.
“I don’t know if there’s a better combination of guards than those two with how many different things they can hurt you with,” Auriemma said after that game. “Those guys are attacking you for the entire 40 minutes. And I don’t know that I’ve seen anybody up close yet that can do that.”
While most recent national champions have relied on dominant post players, Notre Dame bucks that trend, leaning on its guards. Notre Dame women’s basketball coach Niele Ivey, who guided the team to a title as an assistant in 2018, said Hidalgo and Miles have built strong chemistry after a summer of training together.
“They both are willing participants in this,” Ivey said of Hidalgo and Miles. “They built chemistry in the summertime. They built chemistry this season. And again, they both want to win. You’ve got Liv coming back from an injury. She was really self-motivated to come and make an impact.
“Both of them are just playing unselfish basketball and learning to play with each other. There was always a lot of individual sacrifice, and then they just built that chemistry together throughout the season.”
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