Hannah Hidalgo Shines in March Madness: Meet Notre Dame’s Star Player

Notre Dame opens its NCAA Tournament run on March 21 against No. 11 Fairfield. The Fighting Irish enter the game as a sixth seed. They finished fifth in the ACC with a 22-10 record.

Season snapshot

Hannah Hidalgo leads Notre Dame in scoring and defense. As of Selection Sunday, March 15, she averaged 25.2 points per game.

Her other season averages include 6.4 rebounds and 5.3 assists. She shot 48.1 percent from the field.

National rankings and steals

Hidalgo ranks third nationally in scoring. She also led the nation with 173 steals going into the tournament.

That total surpassed her previous Notre Dame record of 160 steals set during her freshman year.

Awards and records

She won ACC Player of the Year for a second straight season. She also earned ACC Defensive Player of the Year for a third time.

Hidalgo scored in double digits in 96 consecutive games. That streak is the longest in Notre Dame women’s basketball history.

Milestones

In January, she passed 2,000 career points in a win over Miami. She reached that mark in 86 games, the fastest in ACC history.

Her single-game school record is 44 points, set against Akron last November. In that same game, she recorded 16 steals, an NCAA single-game record.

Profile and background

The 5-foot-6 guard is Notre Dame’s on-court leader. She combines scoring, playmaking, and elite perimeter defense.

Hidalgo is the daughter of a Puerto Rican father and a Black mother. She values that mixed heritage strongly.

High school career

Her father, Orlando, coached her at Paul VI High School. She finished as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,135 points.

Hidalgo earned New Jersey Gatorade Player of the Year honors. COVID interruptions occurred during her high school play.

Tournament context

Filmogaz.com’s Sam Cardona-Norberg and Meghan Hall highlighted Hidalgo among players to watch. Their coverage follows every game in the 68-team field.

The 2026 Women’s NCAA Tournament schedule runs from March 18 to April 5. The Final Four is set for April 3 at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

Hannah Hidalgo shines in March Madness as Notre Dame’s star player and a leading contender for postseason honors. Mia Fishman contributed to this report.