No. 3 Notre Dame hands Stanford worst loss in program history

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Hannah Hidalgo scored 24 points and No. 3 Notre Dame handed Stanford the worst defeat of its storied women’s basketball program as the Fighting Irish rolled to a 96-47 victory Thursday night.

Notre Dame’s 49-point romp topped the 45-point victory in 1983 (96-51) by Long Beach State that had been Stanford’s worst loss until Thursday’s debacle in South Bend.

Stanford’s Nunu Agara, a 6-foot-2 sophomore forward who averages 17.4 points and 8.1 rebounds a game, left the game in the first quarter with an injury. She only played five minutes and did not score.

Olivia Miles scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Notre Dame (20-2, 11-0 ACC).

Cassandre Prosper and Maddy Westbeld scored 13 points each for Notre Dame.

Tess Heal led Stanford (11-11, 3-8 ACC) with 10 points.

Notre Dame hammered Stanford with a 26-2 run in the last 7:44 of the second quarter for a 50-15 halftime lead. The Fighting Irish hit seven of their last eight shots in the second quarter, while Stanford suffered through 1-of-9 shooting and eight turnovers in the nightmarish stretch.

Takeaways

Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish defensive effort included six blocks and 16 steals in addition to harassing Stanford into 31 percent shooting.

Stanford: If Agara’s injury is long-term, a rough season is about to get even rougher for the Cardinal.

Key moment

Miles hit a stunning step-back three to highlight Notre Dame’s 20-0 run in the second quarter.

Key stat

Notre Dame owned a 45-12 advantage in points off of turnovers.

Up next

Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish look to stay unbeaten in ACC play when they host Cal on Sunday.

Stanford: The Cardinal are at Louisville on Sunday.

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