Hannah Hidalgo has been one of the leaders in steals since she stepped on the court as a freshman for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
In her first year, she led the nation in steals with a 4.6 steals per game average and was fourth last season at 3.7 spg.
This season, she’s back as the “swiper extraordinaire” for Niele Ivey’s team, and in just the third game of the season, the Merchantville, New Jersey, native set an NCAA record with 16 steals in an 85-58 rout of Akron on Wednesday.
Hidalgo surpasses Penicheiro and Ingram
The Notre Dame guard broke the record of 14 steals set by Ticha Penicheiro of Old Dominion in 1998 and was matched by Jill Ingram of Georgia Tech in 2008.
Her non-stop pressure and ball anticipation resulted in instant offense as her uncanny speed produced points in a hurry for the Fighting Irish.
Hidalgo’s defensive wizardry also generated big points for Notre Dame.
She also set a school mark for points scored in a single regulation game at 44, breaking the mark of 41 set by Ruth Riley and Jewell Loyd.
She had nine rebounds and four assists in only 28 minutes on the court, helping the Fighting Irish win its third straight this season.
Her defensive gem helped Notre Dame record 30 steals and forced Akron to 38 turnovers.
After the game, Hidalgo spoke about her feat and said she followed what her coach wanted her to do.
“Defense first. Defense wins championships,” she said.
“I make sure that I bring the energy for my team defensively so we can get out in transition and get buckets.”
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Baseball news: Paul Skenes, Tarik Skubal named top pitchers for 2025 MLB season
Hidalgo becomes Queen Irish after offseason exodus of stars
The 5-foot-6 dynamo is the unanimous leader of the Fighting Irish after the team lost her backcourt mate Olivia Miles (transferred to TCU) and five-star center Kate Koval (transferred to LSU) during the offseason.
She’ll be having more of this in the future Notre Dame games, as she is the team’s leading scorer at 34.3 points per game, assists leader (5.0 apg) and top swiper (7.7 steals per contest).
Though she’ll have Canadian Cassandre Prosper, Filipino-American hooper Vanessa de Jesus, Spanish big Gisela Sanchez and American guard KK Bransford complimenting her abilities, Hidalgo will be the No. 1 offensive weapon of the Fighting Irish this season.
Up next for Hidalgo and No. 18 Notre Dame is their first test of the season – No. 14 Michigan, who is also unbeaten in two games.
The Wolverines beat Canisius 100-40 and Harvard 84-55, setting the stage for the highly-anticipated encounter between AP Top 25 teams.
READ NEXT: Cricket news: England’s Ben Stokes laughs off Australia media jibes as Ashes heat turns up
John Christopher Aquino 
Lucia Caporalini 
Nicole Powell