ATLANTA (AP) — Hannah Hidalgo scored 35 points, surpassing the Notre Dame freshman record of 34 she had five days earlier, and the No. 14 Fighting Irish coasted to an 85-48 win over Georgia Tech on Thursday night.
Hidalgo was 15-of-25 shooting with eight assists and six steals. When she scored on fast break in the first minute to the fourth quarter the score was Notre Dame 73 — with 31 from Hidalgo — and Georgia Tech 31. It was Hidalgo's fourth 30-point game.
Kylee Watson had a season-high 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting for the Fighting Irish (16-4, 6-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), and grabbed nine rebounds. Maddy Westbeld added nine points and Sonia Citron and Anna DeWolfe both had eight. Reserves combined for six points.
Kara Dunn scored 17 points for the Yellow Jackets (13-9, 4-6), who had their worst shooting game of the season at 25.4% (18 of 71), including 17.6% from 3-point range (6 of 34). They have lost 5 of 6 games, four against ranked teams.
While Georgia Tech had twice as many 3-point attempts as Notre Dame, the Irish were pounding the ball inside for a 56-18 dominance of points in the paint.
Notre Dame closed the first quarter by scoring 19 straight points for a 28-9 lead and extended it to a 26-0 run in the second quarter as the Yellow Jackets missed 18 straight shots.
Hidalgo was 7-of-12 shooting for 18 points at halftime when it was 46-17 for the Irish. The Yellow Jackets shot 7 of 39 (17.9%).
Notre Dame is home on Sunday against Pittsburgh and the Yellow Jackets go to Wake Forest.
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