South Jersey’s Hannah Hidalgo starts her Player of the Year campaign in win over Villanova

ROME — In her first college basketball game, in November of 2023, Hannah Hidalgo announced herself to the college basketball world — and international basketball fans — with a 31-point outburst in Paris.

Her Notre Dame team got blown out that day by the eventual national champions, South Carolina. But it was the start of Hidalgo, a Merchantville native and graduate from Haddonfield’s Paul VI, becoming one of the stars of college hoops.

Three years later, in another European city, Hidalgo kicked off her senior year and Player of the Year campaign by doing everything 13th-ranked Notre Dame needed her to do in a 99-75 blowout victory over Villanova, finishing off a sweep in the men’s and women’s doubleheader after Notre Dame’s men beat Villanova, 74-72.

Hidalgo, a preseason All-American, one-upped her big day in Paris, scoring 32 points. Always a threat for a triple-double, sometimes with steals as part of the math, Hidalgo added eight assists, seven rebounds, and three steals.

“Seeing it on film, watching her for the last three years, you’re aware of what she’s capable of doing,” said Villanova coach Denise Dillon. “Just trying to throw a number of different players her way to mix up the defensive scheme.”

It’s become a futile effort. Hidalgo has averaged at least 22 points in all three of her college basketball seasons. Last year, her final per-game averages were: 25.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 5.6 steals. Yes, a dominant point guard who for the last two seasons averaged more steals than assists.

There were points Sunday where probably nobody inside the Palazzo dello Sport would have cared if Hidalgo and Villanova’s Jasmine Bascoe just played one-on-one. Bascoe, a junior, had 26 points and nine assists.

The difference was Hidalgo has much more capable co-pilots. One of them, sophomore forward Leah Macy, scored 27 points and had 14 rebounds. There was an obvious talent disparity at times, but Notre Dame will go as far as Hidalgo takes the Fighting Irish.

Hidalgo, the 2023 Gatorade Player of the Year in New Jersey, will have stiff competition in the Player of the Year race from the likes of USC’s JuJu Watkins and UConn’s Sarah Strong, the last two players of the year, and maybe a few others. Hidalgo is projected to be a top-three pick in the next WNBA draft.

“She’s always been how good she was today,” Bascoe said. “She played really hard. I respect her a lot. She’s done a great job representing small guards out there and I hope to do the same thing that she’s doing.”

Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey said coaching Hidalgo the last three years has been “amazing.”

“She’s somebody that I love to coach,” Ivey said. “I love her tenacity. I love that she’s a dog. She allows me to coach her. She wants to be coached. She’s turned into an incredible leader. She gets better every time she steps on the floor. It’s easier for me to coach because she holds herself to a higher standard and she helps me hold the team to a higher standard. So when you have one of your best players, one of your hardest workers, and someone I can communicate with … she wants to be great. It’s been a joy.

“She’s just really special. We have a special bond and I’m blessed that God allowed me to be a part of her journey because she’s amazing.”

Faith has guided Hidalgo, she said. Asked about her performance Sunday, she credited her faith and her teammates.

“I try and stay humble,” she said. “They were available for me to get the assists and they were able to get me open so I could create my own shot.”

Hidalgo is Christian but not Catholic. She was moved Saturday when she spent the morning in St. Peter’s Basilica for a Mass given by Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez and later presented a gift to Pope Leo XIV inside a building in Vatican City, the Paul VI Audience Hall, that shares a name with her high school.

Faith, Hidalgo said, “keeps me grounded” and she was able to connect with that aspect of her life during the trip to Rome this week.

“It keeps me humble,” she said. “It’s such a blessing. Basketball has taken me all over the world and so I’m grateful.”

From Paris to Rome, and everywhere in between.