Hannah Hidalgo sets scoring record, named co-MVP of McDonald’s All American girls’ game

The game showed off Hidalgo's skill and fearlessness, including one extraordinary shot.

HOUSTON, TEXAS - MARCH 28: Hannah Hidalgo #3 of the East team dribbles the ball during the the 2023 McDonald's High School Girls All-American Game at Toyota Center on March 28, 2023 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images)Read moreAlex Bierens de Haan / Getty Images

Published March 28, 2023, 10:06 p.m. ET

HOUSTON — It was hard to tell, but Hannah Hidalgo admits she was nervous ahead of the McDonald’s All American Game.

“I was just asking God to calm my nerves and give me peace,” Hidalgo, who recently completed a stellar career at Paul VI, said. “I’ve played against these girls a lot of times, so I knew once I stepped on the court and I started playing and got all the nerves out, I was going to be good.”

She sure was.

Hidalgo scored a girls’ game record 26 points and was named co-MVP of the game, which the West won, 110-102.

And, when the lights were brightest, Hidalgo didn’t shy away from the spotlight.

As the clock ticked toward zero in the third quarter, the Notre Dame signee launched up a prayer from well beyond the three-point arc. It swished through the net, and Hidalgo was mobbed by teammates as the buzzer sounded on her torrid 10 minutes.

“I looked up at the clock, and I knew there was only a couple seconds left,” Hidalgo said. “[Jadyn Donovan] doesn’t know how much time is left on the clock, and she’s just bringing it up and I’m screaming, like, ‘Yo, yo give me the ball, give me the ball,’ because she had defenders on her. And then she looked and she saw me with nobody on me. … Honestly, I just jacked it up. I jacked it up, and I prayed it would go in.”

That buzzer-beater was far from the only highlight for Hidalgo, the shortest player in the field at 5-foot-7. Aside from the scoring record, she flew all over the court, disrupting the West offense to the tune of game record-tying eight steals, and dished five assists.

Hidalgo’s buzzer-beater gave the East an 81-74 lead, but the West regrouped in the fourth quarter and went on a 13-0 run to reclaim the lead for good. The 110-102 finish was the highest scoring girls’ game in the history of the event, and Juju Watkins, who led the West with 25 points, five rebounds, and five steals, was the other MVP.

Sahara Williams and Amanda Muse added 16 each, and Kymora Johnson had 15 for the West. Other double-figure scorers from the East included Milaysia Fulwiley, who’ll play for Dawn Staley next year at South Carolina and scored 17 points, 15 of which came in the first half. Donovan, the girls’ sportsmanship award winner, had 12 points and eight boards, while Laila Reynolds, Ashlynn Shade, and Essence Cody added 10 points each.

The game may be over now, but Hidalgo has fond memories she’ll carry with her to Notre Dame and beyond.

“We’re the next generation, and we see all these girls and how great these girls are and all the people that were in double digits at the same time, it’s definitely preparing us for college and the next level,” Hidalgo said. “It’s an honor to go against these girls who are college ready now.”