Notre Dame Gets Over the Sweet 16 Hump; Hidalgo Records Triple-Double as Irish Upset Vanderbilt 67-64
- Brenden Duffy
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
Notre Dame continues to bust brackets. This time, the Irish defeated Vanderbilt 67-64 in Friday afternoon’s NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 matchup at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
Photo via Notre Dame Athletics
Head Coach Niele Ivey and the Irish are no strangers to the Sweet 16, with this year’s visit marking their fifth-consecutive trip to this round. Six-seed Notre Dame (24-10; 14-7) earned their spot in this round after defeating Fairfield and upsetting Ohio State in Columbus. On the other side, the two-seed Vanderbilt Commodores (29-4; 13-4) are amidst their third-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance following a nine-year postseason drought. The Commodores finished second in the SEC’s regular season standings before falling in an upset to Ole Miss in the conference’s quarterfinal round of the tournament. They earned their spot in the Sweet 16 with dominant victories over High Point and Illinois in Nashville.
After forgettable performances in her previous two Sweet 16 appearances, Hannah Hidalgo made sure this year was different. The Irish superstar nearly had a quadruple-double, recording 31 points, 11 rebounds, 10 steals, and seven assists in a heroic effort. As a team, Notre Dame was able to overcome a 1-17 day from three-point land with gritty defense. The Irish held Vanderbilt to 35% shooting from the field and forced 23 turnovers, 16 of which came in the first half.
Hidalgo began a defensive-minded first quarter with a steal leading to a layup for the Irish star. Vanderbilt was able to respond with a 5-0 stretch to go up 5-2 2:30 into the game. A short jumper from Cassandre Prosper got the Irish rolling on both sides of the ball, kickstarting an 11-0 run featuring five different scorers that put the six-seed on top 13-5 with 2:13 left in the quarter. A pair of free throws from the SEC Player of the Year, Mikayla Blakes, stopped a 5:28 scoring drought for the Commodores, but Hidalgo responded right away with a circus-type layup that somehow found the net. Vanderbilt was able to close the last minute on a 4-0 stretch, including a short second-chance jumper in the final seconds, that sent the Irish to the bench with a 15-11 lead after one. Hidalgo led the Irish with six points on 3-5 shooting from the field and four steals, breaking the DI NCAA single-season steals record. Combined, the Irish secured six steals and a block as Vanderbilt struggled offensively, shooting 2-12 from the field and turning the ball over 10 times in the quarter.
The Irish carried a strong first quarter into the start of the second, beginning the frame on an 8-0 run with Hidalgo adding a quick four points and three steals. Notre Dame held Vanderbilt scoreless for the first 4:05 of the quarter, ballooning their lead to 23-11 with 6:12 on the clock. Blakes got the Commodores on the board with a quick jumper, but Hidalgo was able to respond with a short jumper of her own to make it a 25-13 game with 5:26 left in the quarter. After Hidalgo’s second foul sent the game to a media timeout, the Commodores came out of the short break on fire, going on a 12-2 run with Aubrey Galvan hitting two three-pointers during the stretch as Vanderbilt cut their deficit to 27-25 with just over two minutes left in the half. A couple of turnovers and fouls from both sides led to the Irish ending the quarter on a 4-1 run to enter halftime with a 31-26 lead. Hidalgo, as usual, did the heavy-lifting in the second, tallying 10 points on 5-9 shooting from the field and three steals, bringing her halftime totals to 16 points and seven steals. Again, the Irish did a relatively good job shutting down the Commodores' offense, forcing them to shoot just 4-14 from the field in the second quarter.
The Irish started the second half with a 4-0 stretch, which was countered instantly with a 5-0 stretch from the Commodores, capped by a three-pointer that cut Vanderbilt’s deficit to 35-31 1:40 into the third. From 7:23 to 5:55, both offenses caught fire in a bottle as Notre Dame out-scored the Commodores 8-5 during this stretch with four different Irish scorers getting involved as they extended their lead to 43-36. After a short drought, a Hidalgo steal led to a Malaya Cowles layup, but that was answered right away by a Vanderbilt layup. Hidalgo was then able to finish a tough and-one layup and knock down the free throw to push Notre Dame’s lead to ten, 48-38, with 2:56 on the clock. Vanderbilt was able to close the quarter on a 6-2 run with Galvan’s four points leading the Commodores as they trailed 50-44 heading into the final frame. Once again, Hidalgo led the way for Notre Dame as she added seven points, four assists, and two steals in the third.Â
After Hidalgo got her driving layup to fall to open the fourth, Vanderbilt went on a 5-0 run led by Blakes that made it a one-possession game, 52-49, 1:23 into the quarter. Following a pair of traded baskets, Vanessa de Jesus hit a huge three for the Irish to extend their lead to 57-51 with 7:41 on the clock. However, the Commodores did not go away at all and went on a 6-0 run to tie the game at 57, with Blakes converting an and-one layup followed by a Galvan three, with 5:52 left in the game. Hidalgo was able to halt the opposition’s run with a layup to put the Irish back on top by two; however, a Vanderbilt block led to an easy fast-break opportunity for the Commodores as they tied the game back up at 59 with 4:36 to play. After another slight offensive dry spell, de Jesus picked up her fifth and final foul, sending Blakes to the free-throw line where she converted one of two tries to put Vanderbilt up one with 2:16 left. Iyana Moore put the Irish right back in front after she buried a mid-range shot to put them up 61-60 on the next possession. However, Blakes came down and hit a jumper of her own to give Vanderbilt a 62-61 advantage with 1:48 remaining. Prosper was able to draw a foul with 1:28 on the clock, but only converted one of her two free throws, tying the game at 62. On Vanderbilt’s next possession, Hidalgo picked up another steal off a bad Commodores pass, which led to an easy basket on the other end, putting the Irish up 64-62 with 1:06 left. Hidalgo then picked up her fourth foul as she sent Galvan to the line where she hit both of her free throws to tie the game at 64 with 56 seconds on the clock. After a Notre Dame timeout, Prosper came up with the ultra-clutch second-chance bucket following a Hidalgo miss to put the Irish back up 66-64 with 22 seconds left. Notre Dame forced Blakes into a lost-ball turnover, and that essentially sealed the game, with Vanderbilt needing to foul to extend the contest. Prosper went to the line with 14 seconds left and again went one of two from the charity stripe, extending the Irish lead to 67-64 but still allowing Vanderbilt a chance to tie. The Irish were able to stave off the Commodores as they missed two potential game-tying threes, securing their 67-64 victory. Hidalgo’s team-high eight points were just enough to keep Notre Dame dancing.
Notre Dame will play the winner of UConn/North Carolina in the Elite Eight on March 29 in Fort Worth.
Irish Stars
Hannah Hidalgo: 31 points (14-25 FGs, 3-3 FTs), 11 rebounds, 7 assists, 10 steals (broke NCAA single-season and NCAA single-Tournament record), 1 block, +5, 39 minutes played
Cassandre Prosper: 15 points, 5 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal, +7, 34 minutes played
Key Team Stats
Field Goal Percentage: ND (42%)Â - VAN (35%)Â
Three Point Percentage: VAN (28%)Â - ND (6%)
Free Throw Percentage: VAN (84%)Â - ND (77%)
Turnovers: VAN (23) - ND (13)
Points off Turnovers: ND (23) - VAN (4)
Rebounds: VAN (44) - ND (30)
Points in the Paint: ND (54) - VAN (20)
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