All Business in Columbus; Notre Dame Shocks Ohio State 83-73

Brenden Duffy
2 days ago
5 min read

Notre Dame is still dancing, this time after upsetting Ohio State 83-73 in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament on Monday afternoon at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus.

Photo via Notre Dame Athletics

Two teams with similar paths this season, Ohio State (27-7; 13-5) finished fifth in the Big Ten’s regular season standings before being bounced by eventual champion, UCLA, in the conference tournament’s semifinal; sound familiar? The three-seeded Buckeyes advanced to their fifth-straight consecutive NCAA Tournament Second Round appearance after defeating 14-seed Howard 75-54 in the First Round. As for Notre Dame, the six-seeded Irish bested 11-seed Fairfield 79-60 in their First Round matchup.

On Monday, the Irish were able to counter a 41-point outing from AP Second Team All-American Jaloni Cambridge with five different scorers reaching double digits. Hannah Hidalgo led the way for the Irish with 26 points as she surpassed Arike Ogunbowale for most points in a single season by a Notre Dame player. A gritty second quarter where the Irish forced five turnovers and shot 9-9 from the free throw line proved to be huge after starting the game down 11-0 on the scoreboard.

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Ohio State was firing on all cylinders early in a quick-paced first quarter, taking an instant 11-0 lead just two minutes into the game, with Cambridge scoring seven in a perfect start for the Buckeyes. Iyana Moore knocked down a pair of threes to put the Irish on the scoreboard, and then a Hidalgo steal led to an easy basket for Cassandre Prosper that cut their deficit down to five, 13-8, with 5:48 on the clock. Gisela Sanchez was able to finish a tough basket in the paint before Hidalgo turned another steal into two points as she finished off her own takeaway, reducing the Buckeyes' lead to 15-12 with 4:32 left in the quarter. After Ohio State scored on back-to-back possessions to push their lead to seven, Hidalgo and KK Bransford (OSU tipped her missed shot into their own basket) responded with back-to-back scores of their own as the Buckeyes maintained the three-point advantage with 2:10 remaining. The Buckeyes hit a three, but it was Hidalgo and Bransford who closed the quarter with a pair of baskets, the latter happening with about five seconds to play, that put the Irish down just 22-20 after one. Hidalgo tallied three steals to go along with six points in the first. Moore tied the star PG for a team-high six points on 2-4 shooting from deep to open the game.

After Cambridge knocked down a two-point jumper, the Irish surged on an 8-0 run where they took their first lead of the game, holding a 28-24 advantage just under three minutes into the quarter. Cambridge and Prosper traded a pair of short jumpers before Vanessa de Jesus drew a big three-point shot foul call and nailed all three free throws to extend Notre Dame’s lead to 33-26 with 4:30 on the clock. The Buckeyes were able to respond with a 5-0 burst capped with a converted and-one layup that made it a 33-31 game with 3:46 left in the half. After a couple of more traded baskets, the Irish were able to close the quarter on a 6-0 run with Hidalgo and de Jesus both knocking down a pair of free throws as the Buckeyes limped to the halftime buzzer down 43-35. De Jesus led the Irish’s efforts in the second, notching a team-high seven points and a steal. Prosper also contributed six points on 2-2 shooting from the field and added a steal as well. The Irish shot a perfect 9-9 from the charity stripe in the second quarter to help build their halftime edge.

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Notre Dame came out of the half still carrying their momentum from the second quarter, beginning the third on a 7-2 run, kick-started by a de Jesus three, that put the Irish ahead by 13, 50-37, just under two minutes into the frame. The Buckeyes put together their response in the form of a 10-0 stretch, featuring five points from Cambridge, to cut their deficit to 50-47 with 4:53 on the clock. After a 3:40 period where the Irish went scoreless, Prosper and Hidalgo were able to convert on back-to-back possessions that pushed their lead to 54-47 with 3:50 left in the quarter. Cambridge responded for the Buckeyes with a 6-0 run by herself that brought the home team within one, 54-53, with 2:42 remaining. The Irish were able to close the last two minutes of the third on a 4-1 run, sending them into the final quarter with a 58-54 advantage. Hidalgo led the Irish with six points and five rebounds in the third quarter; however, three personal fouls in the frame raised some late-game caution.

The Irish shut down the Buckeyes’ offense in the final quarter, forcing multiple turnovers leading to Notre Dame points. They opened the frame on an 8-2 stretch, featuring two steals from Hidalgo and a pair of threes from Moore and De Jesus, that extended their lead to 66-56 with 7:16 to play. Ohio State was able to knock down a pair of free throws that cut the Irish lead back down to single digits, but Hidalgo buried a three in response that put the Irish up 69-58 with 4:35 on the clock. After picking up her fourth foul, ‘Grand Theft’ Hidalgo disregarded caution and picked up her seventh steal of the game on the very next play. After Hidalgo and Cambridge traded free throws, Prosper put the nail in the coffin when she converted an and-one off a tough layup that extended the Irish lead to 73-59 with 2:40 left. On the next possession, Hidalgo picked off Cambridge for her eighth steal and nailed both free throws after being intentionally fouled. Following a slew of free throws, which pushed the Irish lead to 18 with 41 seconds remaining, Cambridge closed the game with eight straight points as the Buckeyes' season came to an end. Hidalgo’s 10 points and 4 steals in the final quarter were enough to help the Irish punch their ticket to the Sweet 16 with an 83-73 upset victory.

Notre Dame awaits the winner of Vanderbilt/Illinois as the Irish are set to make their fifth consecutive Sweet 16 appearance on March 27th in Fort Worth.

Irish Stars

Hannah Hidalgo: 26 points (sets single-season program record), 13 rebounds (career high), 2 assists, 8 steals, +18, 38 minutes played

Vanessa de Jesus: 15 points (3-6 FGs, 2-4 3FGs, 7-7 FTs), 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, +5, 35 minutes played

Cassandre Prosper: 13 points (5-7 FGs), 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 steal, +2, 37 minutes played

Iyana Moore: 13 points (4-8 FGs, 3-7 3FGs, 2-2 FTs), 2 steals, +4, 29 minutes played

KK Bransford: 10 points (4-8 FGs, 2-2 FTs), 6 rebounds, 3 assists, +6, 21 minutes played

Key Team Stats

Field Goal Percentage: OSU (46%) - ND (44%)

Three Point Percentage: OSU (47%) - ND (40%)

Free Throw Percentage: ND (88%) - OSU (82%)

Turnovers: OSU (21) - ND (15)

Rebounds: ND (36) - OSU (31)

Bench Points: ND (12) - OSU (2)

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