On the court, she’s intense and laser-focused. Words like “tenacious,” “unrelenting” and “fierce” all spring to mind. The biggest stages in women’s basketball don’t intimidate her; more precisely, the bigger the stage, the better she gets.
All that could describe recently-retired women’s basketball legend Diana Taurasi. Or, it could capture Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo, the ACC’s Player and Defensive Player of the Year. In fact, the descriptions define both, because Hidalgo is the apprentice to Taurasi’s Jedi Master in nearly every way that matters.
Friday’s ACC Tournament matchup between No. 7-seed Cal and No. 2-seed Notre Dame was a two-way battle from the start. Cal won first possession, but Notre Dame’s steely defense slowly cut the team down, and with two minutes left in the first it was clear the Golden Bears needed to take a beat to catch their breath. Unfortunately, when you’re facing a starting five that includes three All-ACC First Team members in Hidalgo, Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron, along with Second Teamer Liatu King and Maddy Westbeld, getting a rest isn’t typically an option.
Tournament season is notoriously unpredictable and wily, and nothing about the game was easy for either team. At the half, Notre Dame was leading…
