No. 18 Notre Dame dominates Pitt 94-59 behind another big night from Hannah Hidalgo

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — No. 18 Notre Dame women’s basketball came back from the holiday break looking sharp, cruising past Pitt 94-59 at Purcell Pavilion to improve to 10-2 overall and 2-0 in ACC play.

Hannah Hidalgo led the way with 30 points, five rebounds, four steals and four assists. It was her 13th career 30-point game, a Notre Dame program record. Hidalgo also kept her scoring streak alive, reaching double figures for the 79th straight game to start her career.

Notre Dame got plenty of help around her. Iyana Moore scored a season-high 23 points in her first career start, knocking down five three-pointers. Cassandre Prosper added 18 points and 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. Malaya Cowles chipped in 13 points and seven rebounds.

Defense set the tone again for the Irish. Notre Dame turned Pitt’s mistakes into points, scoring 32 points off turnovers. Meanwhile, Pitt only scored seven points off Notre Dame errors.

The win also extended a few streaks. Notre Dame has won 25 straight games against unranked opponents and has won nine straight against Pitt, improving to 38-4 in the all-time series.

Hidalgo also moved up the program’s steals list. She passed Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey for second all-time in career steals and now has 350.

“I was super excited,” Ivey said. “She’s just phenomenal to break that record as a junior. It just shows her dominance defensively, what she’s done for this program. Records are meant to be broken, so I’m grateful to be a part of it and watch it.”

Next up, Notre Dame opens a two-game ACC road swing at Georgia Tech on Jan. 1 in Atlanta.