No. 18 Irish dominate Pitt, 94-59
South Bend, Indiana – The No. 18 Fighting Irish continued their momentum the week before the holiday break, defeating Pitt 94-59 to improve to 10-2 on the season and 2-0 in ACC play.
Four players from the Irish team scored in double figures, including Hannah Hidalgo, who made 13 of 23 shots and scored 30 points, plus 5 rebounds, 4 steals and 4 assists. Iyana Moore scored a season-high 23 points, five of which came from beyond the arc.
Cassandre Prosper notched his third double-double of the season in the past four games with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Malaya Cowles finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.
how did this happen
The Irish built an early double-digit advantage against the Panthers, leading 25-12 with just over a minute left in the first quarter. After the visitors tied the score to eight, Moore hit the final shot of the first 10 minutes into the game to give Notre Dame a 27-17 lead.
The trio of Hidalgo, Moore and Cowles combined to score 22 of Notre Dame’s 27 points in the first quarter. The Irish converted five steals into 11 points to help build a 10-point lead.
Notre Dame continued to expand its lead in the second quarter, outshooting Pitt 24-12 in the quarter and going into halftime with a 51-29 advantage. Hidalgo scored 9 points in this quarter, followed by Moore and Prosper with 6 points each.
The third quarter was quite close, with the Irish leading 72-49 in the last 10 minutes of regular time. Hidalgo scored 11 of the team’s 21 points in this quarter.
The Irish scored another 20 points in this quarter and defeated the Panthers 22-10, with the final score reaching 94-59.
Notre Dame game statistics
The Irish took advantage of Pitt’s turnovers and dominated, scoring 32 points off turnovers compared to just seven for the visitors. This also resulted in a huge gap in transition, with fast break points outscoring Pitt 32-14.
Notre Dame Notes
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Notre Dame currently holds a 38-4 record in all-time series against Pitt, the winner of the past nine games.
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The Irish have won at least 10 of their first 12 games to start the year for the fifth straight season.
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Notre Dame has recorded double-digit steals in 11 of 12 games this season.
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The Irish have now won 25 consecutive games against unranked opponents.
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Nine of Notre Dame’s 10 wins have been by at least 10 points.
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Since the start of the 2023-24 season, the Fighting Irish have recorded 10 or more steals in 55 of 81 games.
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Hidalgo recorded her 13th career 30-point game, a program record.
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Hidalgo scored 30 points, tying Arike Ogunbowale’s mark for the most games with 60 or more points in a career.
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Hidalgo surpassed current head coach Niele Ivey (348) to become second all-time in career steals. She has completed 350 steals in three seasons at Notre Dame.
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Hidalgo has now scored in double figures in 79 consecutive games (every game of her career), the most by a player in program history.
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Moore scored a season-high 23 points in the win, her 17th career game with 20 or more points.
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DeJesus finished with a season-high seven rebounds.
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DeJesus has had five or more assists in each of his past four games and six in his past seven games.
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Prosper tied her career high in blocks with four in one game.
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Moore made her first career start for the Fighting Irish in the win.
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The Fighting Irish will host Georgia Tech in Atlanta on Thursday, Jan. 1, in a pair of ACC road games at 4 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on ACCN.
