From South Jersey to Notre Dame, Hannah Hidalgo’s fast-rising star reaches its first NCAA Tournament

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The path from Philadelphia to this famed swath of Americana has been well-trodden for generations. But Hannah Hidalgo didn’t simply follow it.

Nor did the Merchantville, N.J., native ride the mythical subway from Yankee Stadium to the Mulberry Bar in Center City, with its horsemen and shamrocks and such. No, it seems the freshman sensation got here her own way: on a shooting star.

A place on the Associated Press All-America first team, one of just five freshmen to earn that honor in its 20-year history. Rookie of the year and defensive player of the year in the venerable Atlantic Coast Conference. Conference tournament MVP, too, for leading Notre Dame to the title.

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Hidalgo is the No. 3 scorer in Division I women’s basketball, at 23.3 points per game. The two ranked higher are Southern Cal’s JuJu Watkins, another first-year phenom; and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, the biggest name in all college hoops — women or men. (No. 4 shouldn’t be overlooked: Villanova’s Lucy Olsen.)

The most remarkable stat, though, comes at the other end of the floor. Hidalgo is No. 1 in steals per game (4.6) and total steals (147) — again, as a freshman.

No wonder the 19-year-old has been placed on a pedestal this season.

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It’s one thing to have the skill. Having the fearlessness that takes a player to the next level is another.

“It’s definitely something that I had to grow into,” Hidalgo told The Inquirer this week in a sit-down at Notre Dame’s arena, where she’ll play in her first NCAA Tournament on Saturday. “Being younger, I wasn’t always like that, being so much smaller than everyone,” the now 5-foot-6 guard said. “But as I got older, I kind of grew into who I am now. So I think it’s just a blessing from God.”

Fighting Irish coach Niele Ivey saw that growth when she was recruiting Hidalgo. Now Ivey sees it every day on the same court where she played for the 2001 national champions under her predecessor, Philadelphia-born Muffet McGraw, then became the fourth of 21 Notre Dame players to reach the WNBA.

“I’m proud of what she’s done for our program, but also just for the game of women’s basketball,” Ivey said of Hidalgo. “The respect that she’s gained throughout the season is just because of the way that she plays. She plays with her heart, and she’s just a fantastic person — a great player, but even a better person.”

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And when your star player loves playing defense as much as Hidalgo does, it’s even more of a coach’s dream.

“Defense excites me, and it gets me going,” Hidalgo said. “It takes a lot of pressure off my teammates when they’re working hard, so that’s what I want to do. I feel like when I get steals and I’m able to get and-ones and fast breaks, I think it just brings so much excitement to my teammates, and it really gets us going.”

If you wish to spend college basketball’s most famous month lamenting the fall of the Big 5, so be it. But while Drexel’s women saved local esteem — for a moment — Hidalgo’s Philly-bred story is set for a long run.

She’s been getting hype since high school, winning last year’s New Jersey player of the year award at Paul VI. She set records for points (26) and steals (8) in the McDonald’s All-American Game and helped the United States win last year’s FIBA under-19 World Cup and the 2022 under-17 World Cup.

“She has a gift, but also, just the energy she exudes, her confidence, and her swag — I think it’s just something you can’t teach,” Ivey said. “You either have it or you don’t, and there’s not a lot of people who have that, what she has. And she’s super-humble too, that’s what I love about her. But when she’s on that floor, it’s go time for her.”

Not every player, freshman or otherwise, can walk onto Connecticut’s floor and walk off with 34 points and a prime-time, nationally-televised win. Or score 22 of her team’s 55 points in the ACC tournament final, while also delivering six rebounds, six assists, and two steals.

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There’s a spotlight on her, she knows it, and she’s comfortable with it.

“I try not to look too much into it because I know it can be a lot, especially with the media,” she said, though she was happy to have her hometown paper on campus.

“Of course, there’s going to be people that love you, but there’s going to get a lot of people that hate you,” she continued. “Getting too hooked onto it is not really good for a person’s mental [health], but I think I have a great support system that keeps me grounded and keeps me humble. So I don’t feel the pressure of all the outside noise.”

Hidalgo has enjoyed some trappings of fame: endorsement deals starting in high school, an agent, and the thrill of Broomall-born WNBA star Natasha Cloud following her on Instagram.

“It’s just great to see how the game of women’s basketball has just grown throughout the years,” Hidalgo said. “I know watching it growing up, I was like, ‘Man, we’ve been getting so much hate, and we’re just getting bashed.’ And to see how we’re getting the props that we deserve now, it’s just truly a blessing that I’m able to be part of a generation like this.”

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Now comes a stage unlike any other. Notre Dame is a No. 2 seed in March Madness, which means hosting games in the first two rounds. Kent State is up first on Saturday (2:15 p.m., ESPN), with Mississippi or Marquette awaiting on Monday (time and TV TBD).

“It’s going to be a lot of madness that’s going on,” Ivey said. “This is her first time, so hopefully she comes out with this the swag she has been playing with. I know she will, and just enjoy the moment — but you have to bring your best game every night for 40 minutes. That’s what I’ve been preaching to her.”

Should the Irish advance as expected, they’ll head to Albany, N.Y., for the regional rounds. South Carolina is the regional’s No. 1 seed, which has fans dreaming of a rematch of this season’s opening game: a made-for-TV matchup played under Parisian lights.

The Gamecocks, coached by the pride of North Philly in Dawn Staley, won it in a 100-71 rout. But Hidalgo made her mark, scoring a game-high 31 points. Staley surely wasn’t surprised, as she first met Hidalgo in 2018 through Philly hoops maven Delgreco Wilson.

“He kind of saw the talent that I had when I was just running up and down the court dribbling and scoring the basketball,” Hidalgo said.

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She hadn’t talked with Staley much between that meeting and the game, but she hadn’t forgotten the impact.

“She does a lot for the women’s game, especially for women of color,” Hidalgo said. “It’s really big to see how someone from the Philly area can do so much and have the impact she’s made.”

Albany’s games are already set to be a hot ticket, with Iowa in the other regional. It will be scorching if Hidalgo, Clark, and an undefeated South Carolina are all in town.

“It’d be a fun rematch,” Hidalgo said. “I think we’re due one, and I think that we’re clicking at the right times. … We’ve been giving it our all every single possession on the court, and we’re playing so much better.”

A few minutes later, that same question was put to Ivey. If Hidalgo answered it as a young player might, Ivey undoubtedly answered it as a coach would.

“My matchup is Kent State,” she said. “So I’m focused on that. Let’s get through Saturday.”

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Ivey repeated a mantra she used often: “It’s got to be one quarter at a time for me.”

But she knows what this year could bring, and many years to come. Her glittering practice facility’s walls are ringed with hardwood placards for Notre Dame’s nine women’s Final Fours and photos of all those WNBA greats — with three spots marked “Who’s Next?”

Will Hidalgo join them someday? There is still a ways to go, but inside a place like this, it’s easy to wonder.

Perhaps the answer lies in a short walk across campus. On the way from the arena to Notre Dame’s Main Building with its famed golden dome, one passes by the Hesburgh Library’s towering Word of Life mural. Generations of TV viewers have seen “Touchdown Jesus” at its center: arms raised to the heavens, eyes gazing toward the even more famed football stadium.

From the lawn in between, on a March day full of promise, those outstretched arms seemed to signal a three-pointer.