Is Hannah Hidalgo playing tonight? Exploring Notre Dame star's availability vs Texas (Dec. 5)

Hannah Hidalgo has arguably been the best player for No. 10 Notre Dame this season. The 2024 ACC Rookie of the Year has picked up from where she left off in her sophomore season, leading the Fighting Irish to five wins in their opening seven games.

Notre Dame will host No. 4 Texas in a high-stakes showdown at the Purcell Pavilion this evening. Although Hidalgo is not featured in the Fighting Irish's poster uploaded on social media for the game against the Longhorns, there are no reports of her suffering any injuries ahead of the game.

In addition, the Fighting Irish hyped up their fans for their showdown with the Longhorns by posting on X (formerly Twitter) featuring some of their players, including Hidalgo.

National Scout and Prep Girls Hoops writer Edwin Aracho also shared a post on X, hyping up the showdown between Hidalgo and the Longhorns's star guard, Rori Harmon. This suggests that Hidalgo will feature this evening.

Hannah Hidalgo one of three sophomores in AP's Preseason All-American Team

Hannah Hidalgo emerged as a key figure in the Fighting Irish's run to the Sweet 16 in her maiden college basketball season. In 35 appearances, she averaged 22.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists, and earned a spot on the AP All-America First Team and All-ACC First Team.

Hannah Hidalgo enjoyed a strong freshman season with Notre Dame. (Credits: IMAGN)

Hidalgo also won several individual accolades, including the prestigious Dawn Staley Award, the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and the Woody Miller Player of the Year. She was also a finalist for the Wooden Award and a semifinalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year.

Before the 2024-25 season, Hidalgo was one of three sophomores to feature in AP's Preseason All-America Team, with the others being Texas's Maddie Booker and USC's JuJu Watkins. Across the Fighting Irish's opening seven games of the season, Hidalgo has shown why she deserved that honor, averaging 23.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists.

The Fighting Irish are 1-1 against ranked opponents, scoring a convincing 74-61 win over the USC Trojans before losing 68-76 to the TCU Horned Frogs. Meanwhile, the Longhorns came to South Bend after their first ranked win, scoring a narrow 78-73 victory over the West Virginia Mountaineers on December 1.

The excitement for the Notre Dame-Texas showdown is at a fever pitch. The Purcell Pavilion is sold out for this evening's game, which will commence at 7:00PM ET.