WBB Wraparound: A Solstice Showdown, Hidalgo's big night, and UConn's star freshman

3 highlights from women's college basketball this week

Hannah Hidalgo lights up South Bend: In an epic game between No. 3 Notre Dame and No. 4 UConn, it was all Hannah Hidalgo. One of the biggest, longest, and most historical rivalries in women's basketball, UConn vs Notre Dame is always a must-see. Hidalgo made sure to protect home court as the Fighting Irish hosted the Huskies this year. She scored 29 points with 10 rebounds and 8 assists on 8-of-17 shooting from the field and six made 3-pointers. UConn was, unfortunately, undermanned, missing their sharp shooting Azzi Fudd after she suffered a minor knee sprain the week before. Notre Dame won 79-68 over UConn. Paige Bueckers did everything she could though, scoring 25 points of her own, and the freshman Sarah Strong scored 14 points. It was a great game, living up to the hype.

No. 4 UConn comes back to beat Iowa State: While UConn had a game against Georgetown right after losing to Notre Dame, they also played Iowa State a few days after that. Iowa State has unfortunately been on the receiving end of some angry, post-loss teams this season. First, South Carolina played them right after losing to UCLA, breaking a 43-game winning streak. The Gamecocks beat Iowa State 76-36 in that game. Then UConn lost against Notre Dame and very quickly played Iowa State, with a similar result. Bueckers and sophomore Ashlyn Shade each scored 27 points while Strong had a career-high 29 points, and the Huskies beat Iowa State 101-68. Iowa State has fallen out of the rankings now, their young team losing against some higher-ranked opponents. On UConn's end, getting back on track after losing to Notre Dame was what they needed as they prep to play USC later this week.

No. 15 Michigan State beats No. 22 Iowa: While the current rankings would reflect this, Michigan State has been making a steady climb through the top 25 this season. Currently 10-0 and heading into a tough Big-10 conference, the Spartans have set themselves up to be a threat come conference play. While the 68-66 win over Iowa was their first ranked win of the season, they have also beaten tough teams in Vanderbilt and Cal already this season. They'll play No. 8 Maryland and No. 23 Nebraska in the coming weeks, which will be further tests to see how they will compete against ranked teams. They'll have to play No. 20 Michigan, No. 7 USC, and No. 1 UCLA in conference play as well, and any wins against those teams would put them in a great place come tournament bracket creation. Now is the time to ramp up, and Michigan State is doing just that.

2 games to watch in the coming days:

No. 4 UConn vs No. 7 USC: Saturday, Dec. 21, 8:00 p.m. EST

The Winter Solstice may be the darkest day of the year, but UConn vs USC is the brightest match-up of the year so far. A rematch of the March Madness Elite 8 game from earlier in 2024, folks have had this game circled since the second the schedules came out. It's on national television as well, and there is little doubt that it will live up to the hype. You have Juju Watkins vs Paige Bueckers, and two teams with championship aspirations as well. USC brought in the best recruiting class of the year, but UConn's Sarah Strong has been the best freshman across the board. Kiki Iriafen is now a member of the USC team, an addition that was not there last time. It's the future of the sport on display. Watkins is averaging 24.7 points per game, Bueckers 20.6 points per game. Hopefully, Azzi Fudd will be back in the mix for UConn, but Ashlyn Shade just had a great game against Iowa State so hopefully that momentum will carry into this game. It's going to be an unmissable event in women's basketball this season.

No. 15 Michigan State vs Alabama: Friday, Dec. 20, 4:30 p.m. EST

A game between two up-and-coming teams that could end up surprising people come March! Alabama sits just on the edge of the top 25 rankings, threatening to come in and overtake another team at any moment. Michigan State has been slowly building momentum through non-conference play. Both teams have 10 wins on the season, with Alabama having one loss and Michigan State having none. Both teams are about to enter tough conferences, Alabama in the SEC and Michigan State in the Big 10 conference, and could both use the win before then. It's looking to be a great game and the winner will head into the Christmas break with a boost of confidence to lead them into conference play.

1 player to keep an eye on: Sarah Strong, UConn

Freshman Sarah Strong was the No. 1 recruit of the 2024 high school class, and for good reason. She has been absolutely crushing it on an often-depleted UConn team that is still suffering a lingering injury bug. A 6-foot-2 forward, Strong is averaging 17.3 points per game playing with Paige Bueckers. She scored 29 points in UConn's win over Iowa State this week and is also averaging 8.3 rebounds per game. Strong has scored in double-digits in every game UConn has played this season.

Strong's stat line of 17.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.2 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game is screaming Freshman of the Year. On top of that, the fate of this program after Bueckers departs this year is in good hands with this incredible player. She shoots 56 percent from the field, 36.5 percent from 3-point range. Per Her Hoops Stats effective field goal tracker, which calculates the shooting percentage of a player when accounting for the value of 3-point attempts, is at 64.2 percent.

She's the kind of player that has a huge ceiling, but still has an immense amount of value on the court now. Strong is a big asset for UConn, and a future star of the sport.