Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo calls 'BS' for having to remove nose ring during Sweet 16 game

Hannah Hidalgo’s nose ring may have cost the nation’s top freshman a shot at a championship ring.

The Paul VI graduate and star guard for the University of Notre Dame women’s basketball team missed a chunk of time in the second during Friday’s Sweet 16 game against Oregon State while her nose jewelry had to be removed.

Notre Dame lost, 70-65. The Irish finished their season at 28-7.

Before the game, Hidalgo told ESPN that she was told by officials before the game she could wear the nose jewelry as long as she covered it up. The All-American point guard has worn a diamond stud on the left side of her nose throughout the season.

In the second quarter, the officials enforced NCAA women’s basketball Rule 1-25.7 that states no jewelry is permitted to be worn during games.

Hidalgo exited the game for about four-plus minutes and could be seen on the bench as the Notre Dame training staff used what appeared to be pliers.

“I think it’s BS,” Hidalgo told USA TODAY Sports. “They should have just let me play with it if that’s what they said.

“It’s big. I’m on a run. I’m feeling good. To not (play) those five minutes and sit cold.”

Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey wasn’t given an explanation, but said she wished “we would have known beforehand.

“I guess it was a point of emphasis in the Sweet 16 with jewelry. She’s had a nose ring the entire season.”

Hidalgo returned to the game with 5:51 left in the quarter, but didn’t score a field goal until there were 57 seconds left in the game.

After hitting 2-of-4 field goals in the first quarter, Hidalgo couldn’t find her rhythm after she returned. She converted just 2-of-13 from the field and she finished with a season-low 10 points, after averaging 22 points per game.

The setback doesn’t take the shine off what has been an incredible season for the first-year Golden Domer.

A Merchantville native and three-time Courier-Post South Jersey Player of the Year, Hidalgo led the Atlantic Coast Conference in scoring (23.3 points per game) and the nation in steals (4.6). Her 147 steals is a Notre Dame record.

She also earned the ACC’s Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Tournament Most Valuable Player and is a 2024 Dawn Staley Award finalist.

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Hidalgo finished her scholastic career with 2,135 points at Paul VI. She was named the Gatorade New Jersey Player of the Year as a senior and played in the prestigious McDonald’s All American Game, scoring 26 points en route to co-Most Valuable Player honors.

Tom McGurk is a regional sports reporter for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and Burlington County Times, covering South Jersey sports for over 30 years. If you have a sports story that needs to be told, contact him at (856) 486-2420 or email tmcgurk@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.