Freshman Hannah Hidalgo had 23 points and 12 rebounds to help No. 17 Notre Dame beat fifth-ranked Virginia Tech 71-58 on Thursday night.
In addition to leading her team to a big win over the conference rival Hokies, Hidalgo passed Florida State’s Ta’Niya Latson to become the highest-scoring freshman in ACC history when she hit a free throw with 21 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Latson set the record of 659 points during her first year at Florida State last season.
Virginia Tech (23-5, 14-3 ACC) had its 10-game winning streak snapped, but ended up claiming its first ACC regular-season championship outright as No. 12 North Carolina State defeated No. 19 Syracuse 75-71 in overtime Thursday. The Hokies won the ACC tournament crown last season and reached the Final Four.
There was plenty at stake entering the game for both teams as they jockey for postseason advantages. The Hokies were ranked No. 5 in the NCAA reveal earlier in the night. Notre Dame (22-6, 12-5) is just outside of the top 16 and a chance to host first- and second-round games.
Hidalgo, a 5-foot-6 point guard who leads the ACC in scoring at 23.7 points a game, ignited an up-tempo Fighting Irish offense that saw Notre Dame race to an 18-2 advantage in fastbreak…
