FORT WORTH, Texas – For the 11th time in program history, the Fighting Irish are headed to the Elite Eight. Notre Dame knocked off No. 2 seed Vanderbilt in the Sweet Sixteen matchup by a score of 67-64 in Fort Worth on Friday afternoon.
The Irish will take on the winner of No. 1 seed UConn and No. 4 seed UNC on Sunday, March 29 in Fort Worth, Texas inside Dickies Arena. The game will air on one of the ESPN family of networks.
Notre Dame continues to play its best basketball at the best time of the season, winning 10 of its last 11 games.
Hannah Hidalgo is playing on another level in March and that continued on Friday. She did everything on the court for the Irish, posting a triple-double with 31 points, 11 rebounds, 10 steals, seven assists and a block.
With 10 steals, Hidalgo became the all-time NCAA single-season record holder for steals with 199, breaking Lamar’s Chastadie Barrs’ record of 192 which was set in 2019. She also set the NCAA Tournament record for steals in a single tournament with 26.
Cassandre Prosper also had a noteworthy performance, scoring 15 points to go along with five rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Commodores took an early 5-2 lead before the Irish locked down on the defensive end to propel an 11-0 run over a 5-minute span to go on top by a score of 13-5. Vanderbilt trimmed the lead to four by the end of the quarter, as the Irish held a 15-11 advantage after the opening 10 minutes of play.
The Irish defense forced Vanderbilt into 10 turnovers in the first frame while allowing it to shoot just 2-for-12 from the field.
Notre Dame scored 10 of the first 12 points over the first 5 minutes of the second to push the lead to 12 points at 25-13. Hidalgo spurred the run, scoring six of Notre Dame’s 10 points in the stretch.
Vanderbilt refused to go away, scoring the next nine points to make it a one-possession game at 25-22. The Irish then outscored the Commodores 6-4 over the remainder of the half to take a 31-26 lead into the halftime break.
Hidalgo had 16 points, seven steals, four rebounds, two assists and a block in the first 20 minutes of play to lead Notre Dame. The Irish defense held Vanderbilt to 23.1 percent shooting, which was the lowest field-goal percentage allowed by Notre Dame in a half of an NCAA Tournament game since Robert Morris shot 21.9 percent in the second half on March 17, 2017.
Notre Dame scored the first four points of the second half before Vanderbilt answered with five of their own to make it a four-point game at 35-31.
After a layup from Malaya Cowles pushed the lead back to six the lead fluctuated between six and 10 points for the remainder of the quarter, with both teams trading shots to make the score 50-44 at the end of the third stanza.
Hidalgo opened the fourth with a layup to push the lead back to eight before the Commodores scored the next five points to cut the lead to three at 52-49. Vanderbilt managed to claw back and tie the game at 57-57 off a three-point make with just under six minutes left in regulation.
Vanderbilt managed to take its first lead since the opening minutes of the game off a made free throw to go up 60-59 with just over 2 minutes left in the fourth quarter. The lead went back and forth over the next minute until Vanderbilt converted two free throws with 56 seconds remaining to tie it at 64-64.
The Irish inbounded the ball with 26 seconds left in regulation on the offensive end of the floor. Hidalgo jumped up and grabbed the pass between two defenders and then wrapped a pass around an oncoming defender to Prosper, who converted the layup to put Notre Dame up 66-64 with 23 seconds left.
Vanderbilt turned the ball over on the next possession before Prosper knocked down one of two free throws to push the advantage to three at 67-64. The Commodores had one last chance to tie the game but both three-point attempts were off target as Notre Dame came away with the victory to advance in the tournament.
NOTRE DAME STAT OF THE GAME
Hidalgo’s 30-point triple-double is just the second in women’s NCAA Tournament history, joining Caitlin Clark. Hidalgo is the first player since steals have been tracked in 1988 to have 30 points and 10 steals in an NCAA Tournament game.
NOTRE DAME NOTES
- For the 20th time in program history, the Irish have recorded 25 or more wins in program history.
- Notre Dame improves to 78-28 in the NCAA Tournament in program history, including a mark of 11-11 in regional semifinal contests.
- Karen & Kevin Keyes Family Head Women’s Basketball Coach Niele Ivey is 11-4 overall in the NCAA Tournament in her career.
- The Irish improved to 5-1 against Vanderbilt in the all-time series, winners of each of the last five matchups.
- Notre Dame has now won eight straight NCAA Tournament games against SEC opponents, which is the second longest against SEC teams in NCAA Tournament history.
- The Irish have forced at least 15 turnovers in each of its last nine NCAA Tournament games, the longest active streak in Division I.
- Hidalgo has scored 20 or more points in 10 straight games, marking the third time in her career she has recorded at least 10 straight games with 20+ points.
- With 31 points, Hidalgo has scored 30+ points in 10 games this season and 19 games in her career, which is the program record.
- Hidalgo has finished in double figures in the scoring column in all 102 games of her career, the longest streak in program history and the longest active streak in the country.
- Hidalgo has led the Irish outright in points 31 times this season, the most among all DI players in 2025-26.
- Cassandre Prosper has at least one blocked shot in nine straight NCAA Tournament games, the longest active streak among all players
UP NEXT
The Irish will take on the winner of No. 1 seed UConn and No. 4 seed UNC on Sunday, March 29 inside Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament with a spot in the Final Four in Phoenix on the line. The game will air on one of the ESPN family of networks.