What Happened to Hannah Haldigo? Recording a 28.8 PPG Season, Can Notre Dame’s Freshman Return?

The distance between the Notre Dame and Purdue campuses is approximately 110 miles. However, the difference between the two Indiana women’s basketball teams, both of whom have won national titles, is now much more noticeable. On Sunday afternoon, Notre Dame defeated the Boilermakers 76-39 at Purcell Pavilion. Hannah Hidalgo, a five-star Irish standout, led the charge for Notre Dame.

After losing to current No. 1 South Carolina in the season’s opening game, Hidalgo scored a game-high 23 points and led the Irish to their eighth consecutive victory. Eight of Hidalgo’s points came in the first quarter when Notre Dame took an 11-0 lead before Purdue responded with a 7-0 rally. After ten minutes of play, the Irish were ahead 20-11. Notre Dame’s dominant victory over Purdue and Hannah Hidalgo’s outstanding performance demonstrates the team’s strength and ability to significantly impact upcoming games and tournaments. However, an unexpected injury occurred.

Hanna Haldigo’s injury status

Hannah Hidalgo led Notre Dame’s squad to an easy 76-39 victory over Purdue. She finished with a double-double of 10 rebounds, 8 assists, and 7 steals in addition to scoring 23 points. Since their season-opening defeat to South Carolina, Notre Dame has won eight straight games.

Hidalgo grabbed a career-high ten rebounds to record her second double-double of the short season. Despite being the only player to score in double figures in the first half, she left the game early after taking an elbow to the eye in the closing seconds. In the second half, she scored 13 points on 5 of 10 shots and showed no signs of weakness. The native of New Jersey also had seven steals and eight assists. Purdue’s 21 turnovers helped Notre Dame score 26 points.

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This past season, the 5-foot-7 senior point guard led the Eagles to the South Jersey Non-Public A Tournament title game with an average of 28.8 points and 7.3 steals per game. In addition, Hidalgo averaged 5.1 assists and 6.4 rebounds while compiling eight double-doubles and one triple-double.

Notre Dame vs Purdue

Purdue was only able to make 14 of 57 (25%), while Notre Dame made 31 of 61 (51%). With the victory, the Irish tied the Purdue all-time series at 14–14. From 1991 to 2013, the clubs participated in every season save one. Nonetheless, Sunday’s matchup marked the reunion of the long-standing rivals during the regular season since the series’ conclusion in 2013.

Since the Irish defeated the Boilermakers in the 2017 NCAA Tournament at Purcell, it was their first overall encounter.

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With further wins and championship competition in the team’s objectives, Notre Dame’s success will probably cement its place as a formidable force in the women’s basketball landscape.