Irish star Hidalgo posts record 16 steals, 44 points

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame junior guard Hannah Hidalgo turned in an epic performance with an NCAA-record 16 steals and a school-record 44 points in the No. 18 Fighting Irish’s 85-58 victory over Akron on Wednesday night.

A preseason All-America selection, Hidalgo made 16 of 25 shots, 3 of 6 3-pointers and 9 of 11 free throws in 28 minutes on the court. She had nine rebounds and four assists.

Hidalgo’s 16 steals broke the NCAA record of 14 held previously by several players, most recently Georgia Tech’s Jill Ingram in February 2008.

Notre Dame had 30 steals among Akron’s 38 turnovers, resulting in 41 points. Notre Dame’s 20 turnovers led to 13 points for Akron.

Cassandre Prosper scored 14 points for Notre Dame (3-0).

Ni’Rah Clark scored 13 points, Shaena Brew 12 and Corinne Reed 11 for the Zips (0-3).

Notre Dame led 48-34 at halftime after Hidalgo scored 28 points on 12-for-18 shooting. She scored the first 12 points in a 14-0 run that gave Notre Dame a 41-22 lead midway through the second quarter. She also scored five points in a 9-0 run for a 70-44 lead in the third.

Notre Dame fell three spots in this week’s AP Top 25 despite winning two games this past week by an average of 52 points.

The Associated Press and ESPN Research contributed to this report.