SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Hannah Hidalgo scored 27 points, Gisela Sanchez had a double-double in her Notre Dame debut and the 15th-ranked Irish routed Fairleigh Dickinson 98-52 to open their season Wednesday night.
Hidalgo, a national player of the year candidate, made 11 of 22 shots and added six rebounds and three assists. Sanchez, a graduate transfer from Kansas State, contributed 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Vanessa DeJesus, a transfer from Duke, scored 22 points, Cassandre Prosper 15 and KK Bransford 13 for Notre Dame.
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Ava Renninger scored 15 points and Joi Johnson 10 for the Knights (0-2).
Notre Dame outrebounded Fairleigh Dickinson 41-25 and turned 19 FDU turnovers into 32 points. The Irish had only eight turnovers.
Notre Dame shot 65% in the first quarter and led 27-13. A 21-0 run spanning the first and second quarters led to a 50-20 halftime advantage after the Irish shot 57%. Hidalgo had 20 points at intermission.
Kelly Ratigan was the only bench player to see game action for Notre Dame in the first 36 minutes. The Irish led 90-45 with 3:55 remaining before the starters began to rotate out.