Hannah Hidalgo injury report: Why Notre Dame star will NOT play against Georgia Tech
If Notre Dame is to beat a ranked opponent for the fifth time this season, the Fighting Irish will have to do it without their best player. Sophomore guard Hannah Hidalgo will not play Thursday night against No. 17 Georgia Tech.
Hidalgo is missing her second consecutive game — the first two absences of her career — with a sprained ankle. A Notre Dame spokesperson told Blue & Gold Hidalgo has “lingering soreness” in the affected area. Head coach Niele Ivey told reporters Hidalgo should be good to go during a media availability Wednesday afternoon, but clearly whatever occurred in the next 30ish hours did not allow for Hidalgo to take the floor.
She sustained the injury exactly a week ago at the end of Notre Dame’s win over Wake Forest. She wore a brace on the bench for the Clemson game on Sunday. Tonight, she was spotted pregame in normal sneakers. She wasn’t moving around much, but she did not seem to be laboring either.
Hidalgo is averaging 25.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.1 steals and 3.7 assists per game for a Fighting Irish team with a 14-2 overall record and 5-0 mark in league play. The latter is on the line against a solid Yellow Jackets team that started this season 15-0 but as since lost back-to-back games to Virginia Tech and Louisville.
It’ll still be a challenge for Notre Dame to win without its floor general. Hidalgo started the first 50 games of her career before missing these two. She’s been everything for the Irish every time she’s taken the court. In her absence, someone you could say the same about for a couple seasons will have to turn back the clock a couple years and be the Irish’s do-it-all player — senior guard Olivia Miles.
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With three triple-doubles this season, Miles has appeared to relish in playing off the ball more than she did in her first two seasons in South Bend. She’s averaging 16.6 points, 7.3 assists and 6.5 rebounds per game. She already has three triple-doubles this season.
Georgia Tech has three players averaging at least 13.1 points per game. The Jackets are led by junior guard Kara Dunn‘s 16.0 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. She turned into one of the ACC’s better players in averaging 15.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game last season as a sophomore.
Georgia Tech is has the No. 3 scoring average in the ACC, right behind Notre Dame at No. 2. The Irish, though, only scored 67 points at Clemson in their last game without Hidalgo. Points could be at a premium without her out there again Thursday.
