Hidalgo, short-handed No. 16 Notre Dame women hold off Pitt 71-66

PITTSBURGH -- — Hannah Hidalgo scored 24 points with six rebounds, five assists and three steals and No. 16 Notre Dame pulled out a 71-66 win over Pittsburgh on Thursday night after losing a 20-point lead.

The depleted Irish (10-2, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) got 17 points from Maddy Westbeld and 11 from Anna DeWolfe, a graduate transfer from Fordham who surpassed 2,000 points for her career. Hidalgo's steals matched the season low for the freshman who leads the nation.

Westbeld left the game with about 2 minutes left in the third quarter after taking an accidental shot in the mouth and did not return, adding to the Irish depth problems.

Liatu King led the Panthers (6-9, 0-2) with a career-high 34 points on 13-of-18 shooting, 13 rebounds, three blocks, two assists and a steal.

Pitt trailed by 20 in the first quarter but took a 50-47 lead with the first basket of the fourth quarter. But the Irish, who were 1 of 2 from the foul line through three quarters, finally turned things around, making 10 of 11 in the fourth quarter to go with 6-of-11 shooting. Hidalgo led the way with 11 points.

King had the Irish within one with under seven minutes to go when Kylee Watson converted a three-point play and Hidalgo made a 3. The last time Pitt made it one possession, DeWolfe hit a 3-pointer from the left corner with four minutes to go, making it 66-60.

Notre Dame used seven players, four finished with four fouls and one fouled out but Pitt, 16 of 23 from the line through three quarters, was just 2 of 2 in the fourth quarter. The Panthers also missed all eight of their 3-point attempts while the Irish were 8 of 24.

Hidalgo had 11 points in the first quarter when the Irish made four 3s and shot 57% and raced to a 28-12 lead. Westbeld opened the game with a pair of layups in the first minutes and then Hidalgo drilled a pair of 3-pointers before capping a fastbreak with a layup for a 12-0 lead. Hidalgo's second 3 before a Westbeld jumper made it 26-6.

King had eight points as the Panthers scored the first 13 points of the second quarter, cutting the deficit to 28-25 when she made two free throws at the 6:16 mark. Westbeld had a pair of jumpers and a 3-pointer before halftime, which came with the Irish up 39-30.

Notre Dame had 16 field goals — with 13 assists — and six of them were 3-pointers in the first half. Pitt had 10 field goals but went 10 of 14 from the foul line.

The Irish had a string of 10-straight misses in the third quarter and finished 4 of 16. Pitt had a 9-0 run, capped by two King free throws, to tie the game at 41. King's 3-point play gave the Panthers their first lead at 46-45. Jasmine Timmerson made two free throws with three seconds left for a a 48-47 Pitt lead going into the fourth quarter.

Notre Dame is home against North Carolina on Sunday when Georgia Tech visits Pitt.

INJURY BUG

With Westbeld, Notre Dame had just eight healthy players, including former walk-on Sarah Cernugel, who did not play against Pitt. The Irish announced Emma Risch had season-ending hip surgery on Wednesday, meaning her freshman year lasted seven games.

All-American Oliva Miles has been out since injuring a knee late last season. Sonia Citron averaged 20 points in three games before injuring a knee. Cassandre Prosper played five games, two as starter for Citron, before a foot injury sidelined her.

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