Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Hannah Hidalgo has been one of the most talked-about players in all of college basketball this season. Sheās put on a show night in and night out.
The tiny sophomore is shooting the ball at a 50.7% clip and 45.8% from beyond the arc, and her explosive outbursts have become more common as she gets settled in.
However, sheās not that moved by her scoring prowess. If anything, the 5-foot-6 player recently said on the āSometimes I Hoopā podcast that, given her lack of size, sheās always taken pride in her defense.
Hannah Hidalgo says sheās driven by defense, not offense
āI get my energy from my defense, especially being a smaller guard,ā Hidalgo said. āAlways being a smaller guard, I had to figure out how to do something else, because scoring wasnāt always my thing, especially playing against bigger girls.ā
Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Hannah Hidalgo (3) reacts to a play against the UConn Huskies on December 12th, 2024, at the Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, Indiana.
Hidalgo admitted that she didnāt have much of a physical edge over her competition. As such, she had to become a crafty scorer and, more importantly, a lockdown defender.
āI was so small I didnāt know how to finesse and score over taller girls. So, I was always told that defense wins championships, so I always took pride in my defense,ā she added.
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Of course, her defense has been notorious, but her 25.7 points per game would make people think of her as an offensive-driven player, even though she also averages 4.1 steals per game.
