If you had asked members of the women's college basketball community who they thought the best player in the 2024-25 NCAA season would be before the regular season began, most probably would have said UConn Huskies star Paige Bueckers or USC Trojans standout JuJu Watkins.

Hannah Hidalgo showed out with 29 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in No. 8 Notre Dame's 78-68 victory over No. 2 UConn on Thursday. Hidalgo's standout performance allowed the Irish to hand the Huskies their first loss of the season, and her performance didn't go unnoticed by some of the basketball world's biggest stars.