As the Notre Dame women's basketball team competed in the Sweet Sixteen against the Vanderbilt Commodores, the Fighting Irish would come out on top on Friday, 67-64. The Notre Dame women's basketball team was led by Hannah Hildalgo, who had a great performance that led to the shocking upset.
While the Commodores were the No. 2 seed in the regional block, with the Fighting Irish sixth, the national ranking makes the upset even more spectacular, as Vanderbilt ranked sixth in the nation, with Notre Dame down at 22nd. As mentioned by Alexa Philippou, it is the Fighting Irish's first Elite Eight berth under head coach Niele Ivey.
“WOW: No. 6 Notre Dame has upset No. 2 Vanderbilt, securing the program's first-ever trip to the Elite Eight under Niele Ivey — a group few expected to make it this far,” Philippou wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “There are not enough words for the brilliance of Hannah Hidalgo: 31 pts, 11 rebs, 10 stls, 7 asts, and 1 blk.”
Hidalgo's performance for Notre Dame was outstanding, as she recorded a rare triple-double where she had 31 points on shooting 14 of 25 from the field, to go along with 11 rebounds and a whopping 10 steals. She even had seven assists in what was a masterful performance to lead the Fighting Irish past the formidable Vanderbilt, who has now been sent home, which few have predicted.
Now, Hidalgo and the Notre Dame women's basketball team look to continue their March Madness journey, which included wins over Fairfield and Ohio State. Now heading to the Elite Eight, it does not get any easier for the Fighting Irish as they take on either the prestigious UConn Huskies or North Carolina, as that Sweet 16 game is on Friday.
At any rate, that Elite Eight game will take place on Sunday afternoon, as Notre Dame looks to shock more people.
