Notre Dame women's basketball dominated Purdue 76-39 on a historic day.

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind -- The Irish blow past the Boilermakers after unveiling statue of legendary coach, Muffet McGraw.

Muffet McGraw had her statue unveiled in front of the Irish faithful, friends, family, and former players.

McGraw becomes the first women's coach of all Notre Dame sports to have a statue on campus.

It was a sold-out crowd in Purcell Pavilion as the head coach Niele Ivey faced Purdue, which happens to be the same team McGraw won her first national championship against in 2001.

"Such a special day honoring coach McGraw, getting a chance to watch the speeches, the unveiling of her statue, that was just historical. So that was just a great way to start the day and then for this game to be a sold-out game, the energy of the crowd was amazing. And then for the team to perform the way that they performed in such a dominant fashion for 40 minutes. It was just icing on the cake for us to get this win today," Ivey said.

It was a team effort for the Irish, holding the Boilermakers to just 39 points.

Offensively, Notre Dame had three players score in double figures, including Maddy Westbeld with a double-double (15 points and 12 rebounds).

But to no surprise, the star of the show was the electrifying freshman Hannah Hidalgo.

"Hannah just having just an incredible beginning of her freshman career, she almost had a quadruple double today. Unbelievable," Ivey added.

Hidalgo finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, and 7 steals, becoming the first player since January of 2022 to have a game with 20 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 7 steals.

A historic performance on a historic night in the team's first game since December sixth.

"We're coming off an 11-day break with finals and for them to come out and not lose a beat from the beginning of the game. It's just it shows their leadership and how prepared and ready we were to play," Ivey mentioned.

It was a great win for the Irish they advanced to 8-1 on the season. The ladies will face Western Michigan at home on Thursday December 21st.

As for the Purdue Boilermakers, they did have a homecoming for three of their players.

Mila Reynolds, Amaya Reynolds, and Rashunda Jones from South Bend Washington were on the roster for the Boilermakers today, unfortunately Jones was not dressed for today's game.