COLUMBUS, Ohio – The biggest stars shine brightest on the biggest stage and Hannah Hidalgo is a certified star. The junior phenom led Notre Dame to a 79-60 win over the No. 11 seed Fairfield in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday afternoon inside the Schottenstein Center.
The Fighting Irish will take on No. 3 seed Ohio State in a second round matchup on Monday in Columbus with the winner advancing to the Sweet Sixteen in Fort Worth next weekend.
Hidalgo was masterful in all facets of the game, flirting with a quadruple double. The guard finished with 23 points, nine rebounds, eight steals and six assists to lead the Irish to the victory over the Stags.
Iyana Moore was the second-leading scorer in the contest, finishing with 18 points on the afternoon.
Cassandre Prosper also had a big game, scoring 17 points off 7-of-12 shooting to go along with eight rebounds. The 17 points are the most the senior has scored in an NCAA Tournament game in her career.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish built a five-point advantage over the first 10 minutes of action, leading 17-12 at the end of the first quarter. Notre Dame scored eight of the first 10 points coming from two made buckets apiece from Hidalgo and Prosper. Hidalgo paced the offense with seven points in the first frame.
Notre Dame quickly pushed its lead to double figures, scoring seven of the first eight points of the second stanza to make the score 24-13 with just under 7 minutes left in the half.
Fairfield managed to cut the Irish lead to seven at 29-22 with 2 minutes remaining in the half but Notre Dame closed by scoring seven of the final nine points to take a 36-24 lead into the halftime intermission.
Hidalgo had 13 points, seven rebounds, five steals and five assists at the break. Moore also helped carry the offensive load with 10 points.
The Fighting Irish took complete control of the game over the first 5 minutes of the third quarter, outscoring the Stags 11-2 to take a 21-point lead at 47-36. Notre Dame led by as many as 23 in the third quarter (54-31) before taking a 19-point advantage into the final 10 minutes of play at 62-43.
The Irish and Stags both scored 17 points in the fourth quarter as Notre Dame cruised to the 79-60 victory to move on in the tournament.
NOTRE DAME STAT OF THE GAME
The Irish dominated down low, outscoring the Stags 44-22 for points in the paint.
NOTRE DAME NOTES
- Notre Dame improves to 76-28 in the NCAA Tournament in program history, including a mark of 27-4 in first round contests.
- The Irish improved to 2-0 against Fairfield in the all-time series.
- Notre Dame improves to 25-6 all-time in the ACC Tournament and has advanced to the semifinals 11 times in 13 appearances.
- With eight steals, Hidalgo passed Dawn Staley (454) for second place in the ACC record books for career steals, as Hidalgo now has 460 in her career.
- Hidalgo’s eight steals are a program record for steals in an NCAA Tournament game.
- Hidalgo has scored 20 or more points in eight straight games, marking the third time in her career she has recorded at least eight straight games with 20+ points.
- With 23 points, Hidalgo has scored 20+ points in 26 games this season and 77 games in her career, which is the program record.
- Hidalgo has finished in double figures in the scoring column in all 100 games of her career, the longest streak in program history and the longest active streak in the country.
- Hidalgo is one of five players this century to post multiple NCAA Tournament games of at least 20 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals.
- Moore moved into the top five in program history for made three pointers in a season with 77.
- Moore knocked down four shots from beyond the arc and has achieved the feat 11 times this season.
UP NEXT
The Irish will take on the No. 3 seed Ohio State Buckeyes on Monday, March 23 inside the Schottenstein Center in Columbus in the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a spot in the Sweet 16 on the line. The game will air on one of the ESPN family of networks.