Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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38 DECEMBER 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TYLER HORKA I t was always going to be Han- nah Hidalgo. Notre Dame just needed to help get her there. For much of the evening of Nov. 21, it didn't look like then- No. 24 Notre Dame could. As in, get Hidalgo to the point of hav- ing the ball in her hands in the final 20 seconds of a tied game at Purcell Pavilion with then- No. 11 Southern Cal in town. To o m a ny t u r n ove rs. To o many missed shots. Not enough going right. But then, the turnovers turned into assists. The misses turned into makes. Nothing could go wrong. Especially when the ball never left Hidalgo's hands on Notre Dame's final possession. Why would it? The best player in NCAA women's basketball was either going to win the game for Notre Dame or have it go to overtime. And, again, it's Hidalgo. Did you really think she was going to miss? Of course not. Her mid-range, pull-up jumper was nails. It went through the hoop with 1.9 seconds remaining, and the Irish turned the Trojans over in those final two ticks to seal the deal. Notre Dame, trailing by as many as 11 late in the third quarter, beat Southern Cal, 61-59, just six days after losing by 39 to now-No. 6 Michigan. Quite a turnaround — one that was needed in the worst way. "I can't say enough about this team," head coach Niele Ivey said. "I am so proud of the way we responded. They are coming off a really, really tough loss and got to work this week. They just stayed the course, were super competi- tive this week and found that toughness that I know that we have." About that game winner? "Big-time shot, big-time player," Ivey said. "A really excellent player made a tough shot on a really excellent defensive player," Southern Cal head coach Lindsay Gottlieb added. "She made a big shot." There wasn't a better embodiment for the Irish's flipping of the switch than redshirt junior guard KK Bransford, however. Hidalgo was on her game all night, except for a minor stretch of in- efficient shooting. But Bransford? She had as many turnovers (6) as rebounds (3), points (2) and assists (1) combined through three quarters. She eventually willed herself to a stat line of 11 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 7 turnovers — just 1 in the fourth quarter. Bransford became an offensive re- bounding machine. She shored up her game and stopped trying to do too much. Instead, she let Hidalgo, who had 22 points, 7 rebounds, 5 steals and 2 as- sists, find her for easy buckets under the basket. Those came much more easily than trying to get to her spot and being met by a sea of cardinal and gold jerseys. Ivey pulled Bransford aside for a quick pep talk going into the fourth quarter. She told her there were 10 minutes left and whatever happened in the first 30 would be of little consequence if she helped Notre Dame complete its come- back and earn a victory. That, she did. In a big way, scoring nine of Notre Dame's 15 points in the frame. She outscored the Trojans on her own. They had eight. "I felt the belief," Bransford said. "I didn't want to leave any- thing out on the court. Just telling myself, 'You don't have time to feel sorry for yourself.'" The Irish wouldn't have won without Duke transfer Vanessa de Jesus, either, who had 13 points and made three of the Irish's five three pointers. She was a steady- ing force throughout, also con- tributing a team-high 4 assists and 2 steals. One of the takeaways came in the final minute of the third. She scored on a breakaway layup. Then Hidalgo did the same to cap a 6-0 spurt in the final 1:03 of the quarter. That trimmed the lead from 11 to five and instilled much of the belief Bransford spoke of. "I thought it was huge," Ivey said. "That group, they turned it on de- fensively and got a couple of steals. They felt good about that. And I thought that really ignited our fourth quarter." It's a quarter that goes down as a season saver for the Irish for the time being. Lose the game, and they are 3-2 with back-to- back losses in marquee matchups. "After that wake-up call versus Mich- igan, we got back in the gym. We knew we had to turn some things around," Hidalgo said. "We fine-tuned a lot of things. There is still a lot of work, but we know this is a game of runs." The No. 19 Irish maintained their mo- mentum and improved to 5-1 with an 83-51 win over Central Michigan Nov. 24 before getting Thanksgiving off. Five Irish players finished in double figures led by Hidalgo's 25 points on 12-of-19 shooting. Iyana Moore and Bransford each finished with 12, Cas- sandre Prosper added 11 and Gisela San- chez chipped in 10. The Irish defense swarmed the Chippewas for all 40 min- utes, swiping 22 steals. Notre Dame returns to action with a showdown at No. 13 Ole Miss Dec. 4. ✦ 'Big-Time Shot, Big-Time Player' Gets The Irish Back On Track WOMEN'S B A S K E T B A L L Junior point guard Hannah Hidalgo's pull-up jumper with 1.9 seconds remaining in the game gave Notre Dame a 61-59 victory over then- No. 11 Southern Cal Nov. 21. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER