SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Hannah Hidalgo scored 22 points and hit the go-ahead jumper with 1.9 seconds left, KK Bransford scored nine of her 11 points in the fourth quarter and No. 24 Notre Dame beat No. 11 USC 61-59 on Friday.
Hildalgo added seven rebounds and five steals and Bransford had eight rebounds, four steals and three blocks. Vanessa de Jesus added 13 points and three steals for Notre Dame (4-1). The Fighting Irish, who went into the game averaging 18 steals per game (No. 5 nationally), had 16.
Hidalgo, facing defensive pressure near midcourt, darted toward the basket and pulled up for a contested midrange jumper that capped the scoring. Cassandre Prosper stole Kennedy Smith’s inbounds pass to seal the game.
Kara Dunn hit four 3-pointers and led USC (3-2) with 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Jazzy Davidson added 14 points but committed eight turnovers. Londynn Jones, who went into the game second on the team in averaging 12.8 points, was scoreless on 0-for-3 shooting.
Notre Dame scored the final six third-quarter points and opened the fourth with a 6-1 run that culminated when Prosper made a layup with 4:25 to play, making it 52-all. Davidson hit a 3, and Dunn followed with a jumper that put the Trojans up by two with 1:38 remaining before Bransford answered with a jumper that tied it at 59 a minute later.
Hidalgo scored eight points in a 13-2 first-quarter run that gave Notre Dame its biggest lead of the game at 15-10.
Smith made a layup that gave the Trojans a two-point lead with 2:27 remaining in the second quarter, and the lead was 33-31 at halftime. Hidalgo opened the third quarter with a layup, but USC scored 18 of the next 25 to gather an 11-point lead when Dunn — who scored nine points in the spurt — made a layup with 2:12 left until the fourth.
