When No. 6 Notre Dame took on No. 3 USC on Nov. 23, the Fighting Irish were underdogs on the road against the Trojans.
A who’s who of celebrities and basketball royalty was in attendance for this game, including Los Angeles Sparks star Cameron Brink, ESPN analyst Chiney Ogwumike, USC legend Cheryl Miller and movie star Michael B. Jordan. They came to watch high-level basketball and were likely there to root for the home team, but instead of marveling at USC sophomore JuJu Watkins, they had first-class seats to the Hannah Hidalgo extravaganza.
The Notre Dame sophomore scored the first six points for her team, assisted her backcourt mate Olivia Miles on a 3-pointer and then added her own triple to have the Irish ahead 14-6 midway through the first quarter. It was the beginning of a long afternoon inside the Galen Center for the Trojans as Hidalgo terrorized USC on their home court. Hidalgo did everything but distribute popcorn to fans. She scored 24 points, grabbed six rebounds, dished out eight assists and stole the ball five times.
With the upset in the bag, Hidalgo was the one to dribble out the clock. When time expired and the buzzer sounded, she raised her arms as if to announce herself to the crowd, ensuring there wasn’t a person in the building who didn’t know…
