Every season gifts us one of these evenings.
A Night When Women's College Hoops Went OFF
A night that feels normal when it begins, but somehow ends with your jaw on the floor, wondering how two different stars managed to break the sport open at the same time.
Wednesday delivered that kind of chaos.
While Notre Dame was dismantling Akron and Iowa State was turning Valparaiso into a footnote, Hannah Hidalgo and Audi Crooks were quietly rewriting history books in two different corners of America. Neither performance felt routine. Both felt like early statements from players who are already shaping the season’s storyline, and it is still only mid November.
Hidalgo Leaves Akron Bewildered
If you watched Hannah Hidalgo on Wednesday, you might have started asking real questions about physics.
Notre Dame’s junior guard shredded Akron with a performance that looked like someone had turned her loose in fast forward. She racked up 44 points, 16 steals, and nine rebounds in only 28 minutes in an 85 to 58 win. The 16 steals were an NCAA record. The 44 points were a Notre Dame program record. And the way she did it made the whole thing even more ridiculous.
She was everywhere. Jumping passing lanes. Sprinting through screens. Snatching the ball mid dribble. Akron coughed up 38 turnovers, and each one felt like Hidalgo saw it before it even happened.
Hidalgo finished 16 for 25 from the field and knocked down three of her six three point attempts. Her teammates spent most of the night playing off her gravitational pull, because once she locked in, there was no slowing the game down.
Afterward, she kept her focus on the team. She said she knows what her teammates ask of her each night and just wants to deliver it consistently. A simple answer for a night that felt larger than life.
Only one other Irish player reached double figures. Cassandre Prosper added 14. Akron’s Ni Rah Clark finished with 13 for the Zips, who did shoot an impressive 51 percent when they actually got shots off. The problem was surviving long enough to take any.
Notre Dame moved to 3-0, following previous blowouts over Fairleigh Dickinson and Chicago State. Their first genuine measuring stick comes Saturday against No. 14 Michigan, with No. 8 USC coming after that.
Hidalgo looks ready for the challenge.
Crooks Dominates in a Completely Different Way
While Hidalgo was wreaking havoc with speed and instinct, Iowa State’s Audi Crooks was bulldozing Valparaiso with a style that felt vintage. She bullied, sealed, spun, finished, and basically put on a post scoring clinic despite feeling miserable for part of the game.
Crooks dropped 43 points in 20 minutes during a 97 to 50 win, a program record. She was sick before and during the game, and at one point was reportedly throwing up. She kept it to herself.
Her explanation was priceless.
“I am not going to tell anybody that I am not feeling good because then they are not going to play me.”
You could not tell anything was wrong. She shot 18 for 23 from the field, added seven rebounds, and extended her streak of double figure scoring games to 71 straight. Not only is that the longest active streak in the country, but it is also the longest in Iowa State history.
The record fell in the fourth quarter, when Crooks knocked down a free throw with 8:42 remaining. She already had the game under control long before that.
Her presence broke Valpo early. Crooks had 22 points by halftime and spearheaded a 33 to 10 run that made the rest of the night feel like an extended exhibition.
Iowa State’s supporting cast joined in. Addy Brown scored 18 and passed 1,000 career points. Jada Williams recorded her first career double double with 11 points and 10 assists. The Cyclones shot 53 percent for the game and have now scored at least 85 points in all four outings this season.
Opponents are averaging only 44.5 points against them. That is not a typo.
When Two Stars Make the Sport Feel Small
There is something special about nights when the women’s game feels alive in multiple arenas at once. Hidalgo and Crooks pulled that off. Their styles could not be more different, but the impact was the same. They overwhelmed, they controlled, and they made their opponents look helpless.
It was the kind of double feature that starts the early season conversation and refuses to let go.
Notre Dame and Iowa State both feel like teams warming up for something bigger. Their stars already look the part. And if Wednesday was any hint of what is coming, the rest of college basketball may want to tighten the seat belts now.
More nights like this are coming, and women's basketball at the collegiate level is still non-stop entertainment!