SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Hannah Hidalgo had 25 points, seven rebounds and seven steals, Sonia Citron added 15 points and No. 18 Notre Dame defeated Miami 70-59 on Sunday.
Notre Dame won despite shooting 29.6% in the second half and being outscored 35-30 after halftime. The Fighting Irish benefited from 15 steals and 26 Miami turnovers.
After a tight first quarter that ended with the Fighting Irish leading 15-13, Notre Dame controlled the second quarter. Hidalgo hit a couple of jumpers, Citron hit a 3-pointer and KK Bransford added a three-point play in a 10-0 run early in the period. Notre Dame held Miami without a field goal over the final 4 1/2 minutes and went into halftime with a 40-24 lead.
Notre Dame's defense continued to harass the Seminoles in the third quarter, forcing eight turnovers in the period. Hidalgo had seven of Notre Dame's 13 steals through the third, and Miami had 23 turnovers through three quarters. But the Fighting Irish made only four of 17 shots in the period and led 53-35 heading to the fourth.
The cold shooting continued well into the fourth quarter for the Irish as they made only two of their first seven shots and a 9-0 run by the Hurricanes got them within 58-44.
Hidalgo and Citron scored 15 of Notre Dame's 17 points in the quarter, including the first 11, to help the Irish maintain a double-digit lead.
Bransford finished with 10 points and eight rebounds off the bench for Notre Dame (12-3, 3-2 ACC). Citron, playing in her third game back after missing seven weeks with an injury, made 3 of 5 3-pointers and was 4 for 9 overall.
Jaida Patrick led Miami (11-5, 1-4) with 15 points and Shayeann Day-Wilson scored 11. The Hurricanes shot 40% overall but made only 4 of 22 3-pointers.
Notre Dame plays at Virginia on Thursday. Up next for Miami is a visit to No. 6 North Carolina State, also on Thursday.
No. 18 Notre Dame 70, Miami 59
MIAMI (11-5) — Oldacre 1-3 0-0 2, Day-Wilson 5-12 0-0 11, Patrick 5-11 3-3 15, Roberts 1-3 0-0 2, Williams 3-3 0-0 6, Lattimore 0-1 0-0 0, Spearman 2-6 3-6 7, Dwyer 4-7 1-2 9, Hylton 3-11 0-0 7, Stedman 0-2 0-0 0, Totals: 24-59 7-11 59
NOTRE DAME (12-3) — Watson 0-4 0-0 0, Westbeld 2-14 1-1 5, Citron 4-9 4-4 15, DeWolfe 2-6 5-5 9, Hidalgo 9-19 5-7 25, Marshall 3-6 0-0 6, Bransford 3-7 4-5 10, Totals: 23-65 19-22 70
Miami 13 11 11 24 — 59
Notre Dame 15 25 13 17 — 70
3-Point Goals—Miami 4-22 (Day-Wilson 1-6, Patrick 2-6, Roberts 0-1, Dwyer 0-1, Hylton 1-6, Stedman 0-2), Notre Dame 5-13 (Westbeld 0-1, Citron 3-5, DeWolfe 0-2, Hidalgo 2-5). Assists—Miami 12 (Day-Wilson 3, Roberts 3), Notre Dame 12 (DeWolfe 4, Westbeld 4). Fouled Out—Miami Day-Wilson, Dwyer. Rebounds—Miami 41 (Spearman 9), Notre Dame 41 (Bransford 8). Total Fouls—Miami 24, Notre Dame 12. Technical Fouls—None. A—5,905.
