Hannah Hidalgo reveals halftime message, key to 70-62 win over Duke

Hannah Hidalgo scored 23 points and played 39 minutes during No. 19 Notre Dame’s 70-62 win over Duke on the road Monday night.

The Fighting Irish trailed the Blue Devils 30-27 at halftime insider Cameron Indoor Stadium. According to Hildago, head coach Niele Ivey’s halftime message and the game plan she drew up is what shifted the game in Notre Dame’s favor.

“We started off really strong with our defense,” Hidalgo said on the ESPN2 broadcast after the win. “Then we kind of got away from that toward the second quarter. We kind of got lacks and then we talked to the locker room. We know that it started on defense, so we came out in the second half and picked up our defense. … [On offense], we kept space. The [Duke] girls were collapsing. So I just looked up for the extra pass, and it was open.”

Hidalgo finished the game with four assists, but it was the defensive effort that changed the game. The Notre Dame defense forced 21 turnovers, including 13 steals. In turn, the Irish cashed in on 18 fast break opportunities and would lead the game by as many as 15 points during the contest.

Ultimately, Notre Dame finished with 12 assists on the offensive end of the floor despite three players scoring in double figures. Maddy Westbeld and Sonia Citron combined for 26 points during the contest with the trio making up 70% of the Irish’s scoring on the day.

The win improves Notre Dame to 19-6 on the season and with four games to go — Notre Dame feels like they have a chip on their shoulder being tied for sixth place in the current ACC standings. With four games remaining until the ACC Tournament, Hidalgo revealed the mindset her and her teammates have down the final stretch.

“[It’s about] having trust in each other, playing with the girls that we have and just playing hard,” Hidalgo said. “… Don’t take any game for granted, start out strong and play every game like it’s our last.”

Next up for the Fighting Irish is a home stand against Clemson on Thursday, which will air on ACCNX and ESPN+. They hit the road one final time during the regular season with a Sunday game against Boston College — but the final two games could make or break Notre Dame’s seeding in the conference tournament. Those final matchups include No. 8 Virginia Tech and No. 20 Louisville, and both are perfect opportunities to Notre Dame to build its NCAA Tournament resume last second.