Hannah Hidalgo scored 32 points and Leah Macy added 27 as No. 13 Notre Dame defeated Villanova 99-75 in the NCAA women's basketball season opener played Sunday in Rome.
Hidalgo, a senior guard who entered the season with 2,460 points scored, hit 11 of 19 shots from the floor, 8 of 10 free-throw attempts and two 3-pointers.
Macy converted 11 of 14 shots from the floor and added a game-high 14 rebounds. Madison St. Rose pitched in with 17 points for the Fighting Irish.
Villanova was led by Jasmine Bascoe, who tallied 26 points and a game-high nine assists. EJ Bender, who knocked down all three of her 3-point attempts, was the other Wildcat in double figures with 14 points.
After a Bender layup cut Villanova's deficit to 10-9 at the 4:12 mark of the first quarter, Notre Dame scored the next eight points to build an 18-9 lead. They led 20-13 after 10 minutes, but extended that advantage to 45-24 just before halftime. The Irish knocked down 9 of 16 shots from the floor in the second quarter, including 5 of 10 from beyond the arc.
The Wildcats could only get as close as 15 points during the second half. After a tip-in by Kennedy Henry cut the deficit to 76-60 with 7:54 remaining, Macy responded with a layup and a three-point play to extend the margin to 21 points.
Notre Dame hit 55.9% from the floor (38-of-68) for the game and scored 50 points in the paint.
--Field Level Media