There’s a relentlessness to Hannah Hidalgo that shows every time she takes the floor, from her game-changing scoring to the way she harasses opposing ballhandlers.
asserted
she → ’ → ballhandlers
It originates with “that competitive mindset, that kill mindset” that she carries into every game.
asserted
she → originate → game
That has brought Notre Dame’s 5-foot-7 point guard to her senior season, a career that began with immediate stardom and a never-stopped-flowing run of accolades in making her one of the faces of the sport.
asserted
her → bring → sport
She’s dreaming of helping the Fighting Irish take another step forward after coming within a win of the Final Four last year.
asserted
Irish → dream → Four
And the top WNBA prospect could end up as Division I’s career steals leader along with ranking among its top 10 all-time scorers.
uncertain
prospect → end → scorers
“I don’t focus on the numbers ever,” Hidalgo said Monday during the ACC Tipoff preseason media days.
asserted
Hidalgo → focus → days
“All the numbers I put up last year was never about me saying, ‘OK, I’m going to get this amount of points and this amount of steals.’
asserted
I → put → steals
I go out every single game and play every game like it’s my last, and the numbers just come with how I play.”
asserted
I → go → game
If Hidalgo wanted to keep track, well, it would be easy to lose count.
asserted
it → want → count
She is averaging 23.9 points, 6.1 rebounds.
asserted
She → average → points
She has been named the ACC’s defensive player of the year in each of her three seasons.
asserted
She → name → seasons
And she has a chance to join Duke’s Alana Beard (2002-04), Maryland’s Alyssa Thomas (2012-14) and Virginia Tech’s Elizabeth Kitley (2022-24) as the only players to be named ACC player of the year for three straight seasons.
asserted
she → have → seasons
If she matches last year’s output, Hidalgo would rank sixth in career scoring with 3,369 points while setting a steals record with 683, breaking the mark of 648 set by Lamar’s Chastadie Barrs from 2016-19.
asserted
Hidalgo → match → 2016
Niele Ivey wants to savor what Hidalgo is doing even amid the broader focus on team goals.
asserted
Hidalgo → want → goals
“She gives our team her heart and soul every night,” said Ivey, the point guard on Notre Dame’s 2001 NCAA title winner.
asserted
Ivey → give → winner
“The things that she does is very abnormal, it’s very special, it’s very unique.
asserted
it → do → that
So I try to make her at least bask in it a little bit. ...
asserted
her → try → it
I try to celebrate her in the moment, especially in front of the team, and acknowledge it because it really is supernatural what she does.”
asserted
she → try → what
Hidalgo’s junior season offers tantalizing glimpses into possible senior success
Hidalgo was the no-question leader of the Fighting Irish last year after fellow backcourt star Olivia Miles transferred to TCU.
asserted
Miles → offer → TCU
Hidalgo ranked third nationally in scoring (25.3) while leading the country in steals (5.6) for the second time in three seasons.
asserted
Hidalgo → rank → seasons
She had a program-record 44 points to go with an NCAA record 16 steals and nine rebounds in a November win against Akron before eventually setting the NCAA’s single-season steals mark.
asserted
She → have → mark
She turned in a masterpiece in the NCAA Sweet 16 by flirting with a quadruple-double (31 points, 11 rebounds, 10 steals, seven assists) in leading the Irish to an upset of 2-seed Vanderbilt — led by AP first-team all-American Mikayla Blakes — and sending Notre Dame to its first Elite Eight under Ivey.
asserted
She → turn → Ivey
And her output isn’t just the product of firing 3-pointers in lieu of attacking off the bounce.
asserted
output → fire → bounce
She didn’t attempt more than four 3-pointers in any of Notre Dame’s last 17 games.
asserted
She → attempt → games
Louisville’s Jeff Walz, who enters his 20th season as the league’s longest-tenured men’s or women’s coach, watched from the sideline as Hidalgo capped the regular season with 30 points, 10 rebounds, even assists and five steals in a road win against his top-10 Cardinals team.
asserted
Hidalgo → enter → team
It marked the third straight year that Hidalgo had scored at least 30 points on Louisville’s homecourt.
asserted
Hidalgo → mark → homecourt
“We just need to play them up there twice, solve that problem,” Walz said with a chuckle.
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Walz → need → chuckle
Jokes aside, Walz was quick to point to Hidalgo’s impact in ways such as avoiding having the player Hidalgo is guarding bring the ball up the floor.
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Hidalgo → point → floor
“If you get sloppy and you lose focus, then that’s when she takes advantage of things,” Walz said.
asserted
Walz → get → things
“She’s a crafty kid, she plays hard.
asserted
she → ’ → ?
It’s the one thing you can never question her on, is she going to show up and play hard?
asserted
she → ’ → her
She does it every single night, it’s really impressive.”
asserted
it → do → it
Her competitive motor won’t relent
Duke coach Kara Lawson got an up-close look at Hidalgo’s competitive burn when she coached her in the 2025 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup in Chile, with Hidalgo helping the Americans win the gold medal.
asserted
Americans → relent → medal
“I can’t say I was surprised by it, because typically a player of that caliber, that’s how they’re going to operate, that’s how they’re going to practice,” said Lawson, now the USA Basketball Women’s National Team coach.
asserted
Lawson → say → caliber
“So I would say that’s the thing with her that jumps out: just her approach every day, her competitiveness.
asserted
that → say → her
There’s a lot of players on that team that had that, too, but she was definitely one of the standouts.”
asserted
she → ’ → standouts
That much is obvious when talking with Hidalgo.
asserted
much → talk → Hidalgo
Ask about racking up steals, she points to a mindset to harass an opponent and “make this day the worst day of their life, the worst game of their life.”
asserted
day → ask → life
She said she has worked to improve as a locker-room leader, along with managing expectations thrust upon her in that star-making freshman season.
asserted
she → say → season
“I think what I’ve learned is to not care about the expectations and what other people put on you,” she said, “because I feel as though if I’m consistently focused on that, it brings too much pressure on yourself.
asserted
it → think → yourself
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
