Notre Dame star Hannah Hidalgo put the college basketball world on notice as a freshman last season as she led the Fighting Irish to their third consecutive Sweet 16. As they try to build on that momentum, Hidalgo said the Fighting Irish are entering the 2024-25 campaign "Fast and Furious."
"That's hard, right?" Hidalgo told CBS Sports after creating the catchphrase to describe her team.
Notre Dame dealt with multiple injuries last season, including star guard Olivia Miles, who hasn't played since she tore her ACL in February 2023. Before getting injured, Miles was averaging 14.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 2.1 steals her junior year.
Miles is officially back on the court, and Hidalgo, who is also a point guard, is excited about the possibilities of them together.
"Having Olivia back is fantastic," Hidalgo said. "Olivia, she's a great point guard, she sees the floor so well. She is great in transition, so having her back really opens up the floor for us. It opens up up a lot of things for us, especially on the perimeter. Having her back is going to be dangerous and it's going to be exciting. We are going to be such a faster team and a much better shooting team."
Like Hidalgo, Miles started capturing the attention of fans during her freshman season, particularly during the 2022 NCAA Women's Tournament, when she became the freshman to record a triple-double in March Madness history.
The Fighting Irish played an exhibition game against Division II Davenport on Thursday, and Miles contributed to the 101-41 win by registering 15 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Hidalgo led the way with 31 points on 10 of 13 shooting, adding nine assists and seven rebounds.
Last season, Hidalgo earned the 2024 Dawn Staley award -- which recognizes the best point guard in the country -- after averaging 22.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 4.6 assists. Hidalgo said she has spent the offseason working on being more consistent from beyond the arc and working more with her left hand.
With Miles back, Hidalgo said her role will stay relatively the same.
"Now, I just get to play a little more off the ball this season, having Olivia back," Hidalgo said. "Me and Olivia, we play off of each other, so whether that's her bringing the ball or running a play, or me brining the ball, running plays, it's really just whoever gets the ball in transition. Whoever gets the outlet.
"We are just running. We have so many different people who can handle the ball and bring it up. I don't think my role changes much. I think it stays consistent. It's going to just grow from last year. I'm just trying to get better from last year."
One key player missing this November will be Maddy Westbeld, who gave Notre Dame 14.4 points and a team-leading 8.7 rebounds per game a season ago. In September, Westbeld said she was dealing with a "lingering foot issue."
Missing one of their starting forwards and their third-leading scorer poses an additional challenge to Notre Dame, but Hidalgo said the Fighting Irish are going to use it as motivation, and Westbeld is still very much acting like a leader.
"We try to play for our injured players. We try to do everything for them because we know how much they would love to be on the court with us," Hidalgo said. "I think Maddie is handling it really well. She is in the weight room, she is constantly in recovery, she is progressing really well. She is always in high spirits, she is one of our leaders. Just having her on the sideline constantly encouraging us is big."
Even without Westbeld, the team still has a lot of talent. There is Sonia Citron, last season's second-leading scorer behind Hidalgo with 17.3 points per game, and 6-foot-4 Kylee Watson, who led the Fighting Irish in blocks.
Notre Dame added some players who Hidalgo said need to be talked about more. Liza Karlen, a grad student forward, averaged 17.7 points and 7.9 rebounds per game last season at Marquette. There is also 6-foot-5 Kate Koval, a top-five ranked freshman.
"She is a phenomenal player, she is like a tree," Hidalgo said of Koval. "She is huge. She is going to open up so much for us, especially on the perimeter because she is big. But she is dangerous and I don't think people understand how good she really is."
Had a great conversation with Hannah Hidalgo @HannahHidalgo! She said Notre Dame @ndwbb will be "Fast and Furious" this season, and teammates Liza Karlen and Kate Koval @kate_koval13 deserve to be talked about more. pic.twitter.com/pU6sClsn8W
— Isabel Gonzalez (@cisabelg) October 30, 2024
Pittsburgh transfer Liatu King is also already getting very comfortable with the Fighting Irish. She was one of the biggest bright spots from Wednesday's exhibition game as she recorded 27 points and 14 rebounds.
Notre Dame is officially tipping off its 2024-25 campaign on Monday by hosting Mercyhurst. The Fighting Irish will be starting the season at No. 6 in the AP Top 25 poll, and they will be tested early as they have to take on No. 3 USC on the road on Nov. 23.
The expectations for the Fighting Irish are high, but Hidalgo is looking forward to it all.
"I'm just excited about the upcoming season, all the big teams that we play," Hidalgo said. "I'm excited for our injured people to come back and just to play with the newcomers. I'm excited for the fans and just excited to win. I think we can take it really far this season."
