Notre Dame Star Hannah Hidalgo Earns Major Praise from Legendary Coach

No. 6 Notre Dame gave an impressive effort in Sunday's Fort Worth 1 Regional Final against unbeaten, No. 1 UConn, but the storybook upset wasn't meant to be as the Huskies outdid the Irish 70-52.

As lopsided as that may seem, it was the closest any team has played unbeaten UConn in a month-and-a-half, when Villanova played it within 14 points.

For Notre Dame, point guard Hannah Hidalgo was again impressive, scoring a game-high 22 points and pulling down 11 rebounds.

After the game, legendary UConn head coach and Basketball Hall of Famer Geno Auriemma gave Hidalgo as high of compliment as you'll ever hear from an opposing coach.

Geno Auriemma Praises Hannah Hidalgo in Big Way

UConn's Geno Auriemma says Hannah Hidalgo is the best point guard in the country 🗣️

"It's rare that you find a player that is involved in every single play." pic.twitter.com/3dUNQq664p
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) March 29, 2026

After mentioning to the reporter who asks the question that he thinks Hidalgo is the best point guard in the country, he then mentioned a lot more detail on what makes her so special:

"For people that are not familiar with South Jersey, that's just Philadelphia east, right? So she's got a little bit of that toughness, you know, and grit, like you said, and and talent, and it's rare. It's rare that you find a player that is involved in every single play to the point where, like you have to whoever she's guarding, you have to go hide them someplace, hoping that she's not involved in that play, and she still manages to be involved in the play somehow, some way. So not only offensively, can she get wherever she wants to go, get any shot she wants, but defensively, she probably causes more problems for your offense than any player in the country. I mean, you can deal with a shot blocker, you can deal with that, but you cannot deal with someone that every time you're dribbling the ball, you're you're more worried about where she is than who you're passing it to."

What Hidalgo Told Geno After the Game

In closing discussing Hidalgo, Auriemma shared what she told him after the contest.

"I just love watching her and I asked her after the game, and she was old enough to go pro, and she said, No, I want one more shot of you guys."

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Takeaway

Last year hurt in following the Notre Dame women's basketball team because by the end of the year it seemed the team didn't reach its full potential in the ACC Tournament or NCAA Tournament.

That was entirely different this year as Notre Dame overcame injuries and was peaking at the right time. It ran into a buzzsaw in UConn, a team that will probably finish undefeated and with another national championship in a week.

There isn't shame in that. There is a great sense of accomplishment even if it didn't end in a trip to the Final Four.

A year ago at this time we sat and wondered what the direction of the women's basketball program under Niele Ivey actually was.

Now we go into this off-season thinking about the sky-high possibilities of next year.