Women's college basketball Star Power Index: Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo dazzles in UConn win

For this week's women's college basketball Star Power Index, CBS Sports highlights the top performer in the most-watched women's college basketball game of the season. Additionally, we'll give the stage to a talented transfer who is anchoring one of the best teams in the nation. 

Oh, and did I mention that there will be a healthy dose of some clutch, fourth-quarter heroics?

Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame

Hannah Hidalgo continued to put the basketball world on notice when she led No. 8 Notre Dame to a 79-68 win over No. 2 UConn on Thursday.

Hidalgo scored 29 points while shooting 47.1% from the floor and 54.5% from 3. She also hauled in 10 rebounds and handed out eight assists, narrowly missing a triple-double. This constant offensive pressure was amplified by her activity on defense, prompting Huskies star Paige Bueckers to praise Hidalgo following UConn's first loss of the season.

"Notre Dame has a lot of outstanding players, but Hannah is obviously the head of the snake. She does a lot of great things offensively and defensively. She's a pest," Bueckers said after Thursday's game. "The best thing that she does is her energy and her attitude, and she leads her team with that and her fire."

Bueckers, the presumed No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, wasn't the only person to rave about Hidalgo's performance. NBA superstars Damian Lillard and Ja Morant both shared their admiration for Hidalgo with posts on X, while Notre Dame's own social media admin crowned her the "Best Two-Way Player in the Country."

Hidalgo and Notre Dame solidified Thursday's performance by steamrolling Eastern Michigan on Sunday. Like the UConn game, Hidalgo was dominant on both ends of the floor, scoring 27 points and poking away six steals in 24 minutes of action.

On the season, Hidalgo is averaging 25.2 points, 6.8 rebound and 3.8 assists for an Irish team that's looking to win a national championship. Also, the 915,000 people who tuned into the UConn-Notre Dame game made it the most-watched women's college basketball game of the season. If Hidalgo continues to anchor this talented team while winning on the biggest stages, then a Naismith Player of the Year nod isn't out of the question.

No. 8 Notre Dame will play Loyola MD on Sunday at noon ET

Tonie Morgan, Georgia Tech 

The undefeated No. 25 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets opened up ACC conference play with a bang by marching into Carmichael Arena on Sunday and beating No. 14 North Carolina.

The 82-76 victory was a team effort with five Yellow Jackets scoring double-digit points, but Tonie Morgan's incredibly efficient shooting night led the way for Georgia Tech.

The junior guard scored 23 points in the victory while shooting 73% from the floor and 50% from 3. She also chipped in two rebounds, four assists and one steal.

Sunday's win over North Carolina starts puts Georgia Tech in position to climb even higher in the rankings, especially if they're able to beat No. 24 Nebraska on Saturday. 

No. 25 Georgia Tech will play Rice on Wednesday at 2 p.m.

Nyla Hampton, Michigan State

Nyla Hampton's fourth-quarter heroics helped No. 17 Michigan State start off Big Ten conference play on the right foot as the Spartans rallied to grab a 68-66 victory over No. 21 Iowa on Sunday. 

All 13 of Hampton's points on the night came in the fourth quarter, and boy did the Spartans need that spark. 

Michigan State was down 58-49 with less than nine minutes left in the game. But they were able to go on a 14-0 run thanks to Hampton scoring eight of those points. This put Michigan State's playmaker, Julia Ayrault, in position to seal the game for the Spartans.

On the season, Hampton is only averaging 5.4 points. But this weekend's outlying performance helped Michigan State stay undefeated and proved the Spartans can get it done in a variety of ways.

No. 17 Michigan State will play Montana on Thursday at noon ET

Raegan Beers, Oklahoma

The No. 10 Sooners are looking like a force in the SEC, and a lot of this success is due to the offseason addition of Raegan Beers. Because of this, Beers' addition to this week's Star Power Index speaks more to the sum of her value than one singular performance.

Through 11 games, the Oregon State transfer has basically been a walking double-double for Oklahoma, averaging 17.7 points and 9.5 rebounds on over 72% from the floor. In fact, in the three games since Oklahoma's first loss of the season to Duke, Beers has recorded two double-doubles while shooting a whopping 74% from the field. This includes a double-double performance in Oklahoma's 78-72 win over then-No. 22 Louisville on Dec. 4.

Looking ahead, Oklahoma has a tough slate of games that starts on Tuesday with No. 20 Michigan and continues into the New Year with conference games against No. 6 Texas and No. 19 Tennessee. Look for Beers to assert herself during these contests as Oklahoma tries to make a push for the top of the SEC.

No. 10 Oklahoma will play No. 20 Michigan on Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. ET