FORT WORTH, Texas — For the fifth consecutive season, Notre Dame is in the Sweet 16. The sixth-seeded Irish will face No. 2 Vanderbilt (29-4) on Friday with a trip to the Elite Eight on the line. Tiffany Greene, Carolyn Peck and Angel Gray will have the call from Dickies Arena.
NOTES
- The Irish topped third-seeded Ohio State in Columbus to make it this far, 83-73.
- Notre Dame featured a well-balanced offensive attack, as five players finished in double figures in the scoring column. Hidalgo led the way with 26 points to go along with 13 rebounds, eight steals and two assists.
- Hidalgo is just the second women’s player to ever have two NCAA Tournament games with 8+ steals, and she became the program’s single-season scoring leader on Monday, passing Arike Ogunbowale (849). Hidalgo has 856 points this season.
- Also against Ohio State, Vanessa de Jesus scored 15 points — her first time in double-figures in the NCAAT — while Cassandre Prosper and Iyana Moore each recorded 13 apiece. KK Bransford came in and added 10 points off the bench in 21 minutes of action.
- Notre Dame is one of three programs in the nation to make the last five Sweet 16s, joining UConn and South Carolina.
- The Irish are 4-1 all-time against the Commodores and last faced off the 2001 NCAA Regional Final, a team led by current head coach Niele Ivey.
Vanessa de Jesus