Notre Dame freshman Hannah Hidalgo named USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year
Before Notre Dame point guard Hannah Hidalgo scored even one point as a collegiate student-athlete — she’s up to 189 in eight games now — Fighting Irish head coach Niele Ivey said the five-star freshman would be better for having played played on the USA U19 Women’s National Team in the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup. The folks at USA Basketball think so too.
Hidalgo was named the 2023 USA Basketball 5-on-5 Female Athlete of the Year.
“Hannah was invaluable to the USA Women’s U19 National Team that went undefeated en route to the gold medal in Spain,” USA Basketball CEO Jim Tooley said in a statement. “Her competitive drive and determination were seen on the court as she dazzled the crowds in Madrid. Hannah has a bright future ahead of her and we cannot wait to see her continued development.”
Hidalgo averaged 10.7 points and 5.4 assists per game in leading Team USA to the title. Hidalgo set single-game records for steals (8) and assists (13) during the tournament.
“Every time she came into the game, she changed the game,” Team USA head coach Joni Taylor said in a press release. “She changed the pace of the game. It’s fun when you can watch someone who is a two-way player and that’s what Hannah is. She’s a two-way player who can dominate on both sides of the basketball.”
Hidalgo’s stat-stuffing style of play has translated to the college game. She is currently averaging 23.6 points, 6.0 steals, 5.5 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game for No. 14 Notre Dame (7-1). She has scored at least 20 points in seven of the eight games.
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The international tournament in Madrid, Spain, taught Hidalgo how to operate in foreign environments. For so long, Hidalgo was the alpha on her hometown team in Haddonfield, N.J. She was coached by her father, and she knew how to be that team’s go-to player. It’s different when you’re on a team full of five-star prospects and big-name recruits.
That’s sort of been the case at Notre Dame, too. Hidalgo joined a roster stocked with former McDonald’s All-Americans. But some of them have been on the shelf with injuries, and Hidalgo has not been shy to step up her game even though she’s the new girl in the bunch. Notre Dame has needed her very best to get out to a 7-1 start, and Hidalgo has delivered.
“She started trusting more,” Taylor said of Hidalgo’s maturation. “What was really special about watching Hannah is that the more and more we spent time together, the more open she became, the more fun she even started to have. That was just a fun thing to experience and witness.”
Notre Dame players and coaches would probably say the same.
