Notre Dame women's basketball advanced to the Sweet 16 for the 15th consecutive time with an 83-73 win over third-seeded Ohio State on Monday, powered in part by another impressive game from Hannah Hidalgo.
The sixth-seeded Fighting Irish (24-10) have now won 11 of their last 13 games and will face the winner of second-seeded Vanderbilt or seventh-seeded Illinois on Friday.
Hidalgo led the way with 26 points, 13 rebounds, eight steals and two assists, recording her eighth double-double of the season and the 16th of her career. The game marked her ninth consecutive 20-point game and was the second time in her career she has posted at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven steals in a single game.
Through two NCAA Tournament games, Hidalgo has accumulated 16 steals, including eight in Saturday’s win over Fairfield. She now has 189 steals this season, five shy of the NCAA single-season record of 193, according to Jason Owens of Yahoo Sports. Averaging 5.5 steals per game, she is on pace to surpass the record in the Sweet 16.
Notre Dame recovered after Ohio State opened the game on an 11-0 run, taking a 22-20 lead by the end of the first quarter and extending it to 43-35 at halftime. A jumper by Hidalgo pushed the lead to 50-37 midway through the third quarter before the Buckeyes responded with a 12-4 run to cut into the deficit.
Ohio State (27-8) was led by Jaloni Cambridge, who tied a career high with 41 points. That is the second-most by a Buckeye in an NCAA Tournament game. The loss marked the third consecutive year Ohio State has been eliminated at home in the tournament, the first time that has occurred in women’s tournament history.
Vanessa de Jesus added 15 points and Cassandre Prosper scored 13 for Notre Dame, which regained control late with a 12-3 run to extend its lead to as many as 83-65 in the final minute.
Notre Dame will face the winner of second-seeded Vanderbilt and seventh-seeded Illinois in the Sweet 16 on Friday.
Reporting by Joe Reedy of the Associated Press contributed to this article.
