03/27/26 04:23:00
Printable Page
03/27 16:21 CDT Hannah Hidalgo has 31-point triple-double to lead Notre Dame
past Vanderbilt in March Madness
Hannah Hidalgo has 31-point triple-double to lead Notre Dame past Vanderbilt in
March Madness
By SCHUYLER DIXON
AP Sports Writer
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) --- Hannah Hidalgo had 31 points, 11 rebounds, 10 steals
and the assist on the go-ahead bucket in the final minute, leading Notre Dame
to a 67-64 victory over higher-seeded Vanderbilt in the Sweet 16 on Friday.
The junior sparkplug made a leaping grab between two defenders and fed a bounce
pass to Cassandre Prosper under the basket for a two-point lead with 22 seconds
to go.
The sixth-seeded Fighting Irish (25-10) advanced to the Elite Eight in March
Madness for the first time since 2019 in a matchup of two of the top three
scorers in Division I, Hidalgo and Mikayla Blakes.
Notre Dame will play either top-seeded and undefeated UConn or North Carolina
in the Fort Worth Regional 1 final Sunday.
Blakes, the national scoring leader, rallied from a rough shooting start to
finish with 26 points for Vanderbilt, but lost the ball out of bounds on the
dribble after Prosper's go-ahead shot, then missed a 3-pointer as time expired.
The No. 2 seed Commodores (29-5) were in the Sweet 16 for the first time since
2009.
In a game full of big plays from Hidalgo as she set an NCAA single-season
record for steals, the biggest didn't have anything to do with the categories
in her unusual triple-double, the third of her career. Although it did lead to
her team-leading seventh assist.
With a high-arching inbound pass coming down as she ran between two defenders,
the 5-foot-6 Hidalgo soared to make the catch, came down and immediately found
Prosper all alone at the rim.
After Blakes lost the ball dribbling toward the basket for what would have been
a tying shot, the Commodores had to foul three times just to get Notre Dame to
the free-throw line.
Prosper missed the first of two free throws to give Vanderbilt a chance.
Standout freshman Aubrey Galvan, who was a big reason the Commodores were even
in the game late, missed a 3 but got her own rebound and found Blakes.
The high-scoring sophomore who missed her first eight shots was off target from
beyond the arc, completing a 7-of-26 showing for her as Vanderbilt matched its
season worst at 35% shooting for the game.
Hidalgo needed four steals to break Chastadie Barrs' mark of 192 set with Lamar
in 2018-19. She got that in the first quarter and ended the game one shy of
being the first with 200 in a season.
She'll probably hit that milestone in the regional final.
Hidalgo was already just the second player to have at least eight steals in
multiple NCAA Tournament games. She had eight in each of Notre Dame's first two
tourney wins, over Fairfield and Ohio State.
Three of Hidalgo's steals came quickly against Vanderbilt midway through the
second quarter.
She grabbed the ball out of Sacha Washington's hands and went in alone for a
layup, then stole a bad pass near midcourt. Her seventh steal soon after led to
another easy layup for a 23-11 lead.
Hidalgo, the third-leading scorer in the country, had 16 points at halftime as
the sixth-seeded Irish led No. 2 seed Vanderbilt 31-26.
Vanderbilt was 3-20 from the field and 0-9 on 3-pointers midway through the
second quarter when Galvan hit consecutive shots behind the arc after a
spectacular layup. She flipped the ball over her head as she turned away from
the basket, part of a 12-2 run that erased most of a 12-point deficit.
The Commodores were down six early in the fourth quarter when Blakes converted
a three-point play and Galvan hit a tying 3.
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and
coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
|
