LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Nyla Harris scored a career-high 19 points to go with 10 rebounds, Sydney Taylor added 13 points, including a key 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, and No. 15 Louisville held off No. 12 Notre Dame 73-66 on Thursday night to spoil Hannah Hidalgo's 30-point performance amid a record-breaking outing.
The Cardinals (20-4, 9-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) led throughout but Hidalgo, the ACC's leading scorer, kept it close by dropping 22 points in the second half after a cold start. Notre Dame trailed just 57-51 before Merissah Russell, Taylor and Jayda Curry made consecutive 3-pointers for Louisville's biggest lead at 66-53 with 5:28 remaining.
That provided a needed cushion as the Irish (17-5, 7-4) fought to within 70-66 with 25 seconds left behind Hidalgo's three-point play and Sonia Citron's jumper. Hidalgo then fouled Kiki Jefferson (12 points), who made two free throws with 8.2 seconds left, and Olivia Cochran made one of two from the line to seal a hard-fought win.
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Harris made 9 of 11 from the field for Cardinals, who bounced back from Monday night’s 77-67 loss at No. 3 North Carolina State despite shooting 43% and committing 21 turnovers. But they made 7 of 18 from deep (39%) including two each from Taylor and Curry.
Notre Dame was just 2 of 18 from 3-point range and committed 17 turnovers.
Hildalgo overcame missing her first four shots to finish 12 of 25 from the field for her third 30-point effort in four games despite missing all four from behind the arc. Hildalgo set the Notre Dame freshman record for most points in a season on a fast-break layup early in the third quarter to pull within 34-33. Shari Matvey scored 529 in 1979-80.
Hildalgo's seven steals for the Irish, who had won their previous three, gave her 113 to break Marion Jones' freshman mark of 111 with North Carolina in 1993-94. Hildalgo entered leading the nation with 5.1 thefts per contest and third in scoring at 24.8. points.
Louisville built a 13-2 lead as Notre Dame missed its first eight shots before cooling down by the end of the first quarter. The Irish took advantage to slowly climb back, with Citron hitting their first 3 late in the second to get within 30-29 at the break.
Hidalgo erupted for 13 points in the third that briefly got Notre Dame within 40-37. Louisville answered with a Cochran layup, Curry's right-side 3-pointer and Harris' transition layup, off a steal, to stretch it the lead back to double digits.
Louisville unveiled special bourbon barrel- and baseball bat-inspired cream uniforms provided through a partnership between Adidas and former Cardinals great, Olympic gold medalist and five-time WNBA All-Star Angel McCoughtry. The jerseys featured the years of their four Final Four appearances and her signature.
Notre Dame visits Florida State on Sunday. Louisville visits No. 23 Syracuse on Sunday, seeking a season sweep after winning 81-69 on Feb. 1.
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