In game one of two NCAA Tournament matchups hosted in Columbus, No. 3 Ohio State women’s basketball defeated the Bison 75-54 behind a stifling defensive performance that held Howard to 33.9% shooting. That put the Buckeyes into the Second Round for the fourth season in a row. Head coach Kevin McGuff’s side did not have to wait long to find out its next opponent when the No. 6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish took on the No. 11 Fairfield Stags. Notre Dame led from the opening tip in a 79-60 victory over
the MAAC champions.
Fairfield, a side built on strong three-point shooting and team basketball, struggled to hit shots from beyond the arc in the first half, going 2-for-11 from the field. By the time Fairfield hit 4-for-7 in the third quarter, the Notre Dame lead was still at 19 points because the Stags defense could not stop the Fighting Irish consistently. Notre Dame’s defense closed down shooters and forced 19 turnovers, over the Stags 13 turnovers per game average headed into Saturday.
Point guard Hannah Hidalgo led the Irish with 23 points, 9 rebounds, 8 steals and 6 assists, nearly hitting a quadruple-double in a game that did not have much in terms of continuity and flowing play. Regardless, it ended with a win for the ACC side.
The last time the Buckeyes played the Fighting Irish was 2017 when then Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw played against her former assistant coach McGuff’s Ohio State side for the second time since his hiring in Columbus.
Now WNBA guards Arike Ogunbowale and Marina Mabrey led the Irish over the Buckeyes with 32 and 14 points respectively to defeat the Buckeyes 99-76. Ohio State legend Kelsey Mitchell led the Buckeyes with 18 points but it was not enough to get Ohio State out of the Sweet Sixteen.
A lot changed in nine years with Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey taking over for McGraw after the program’s legendary coach retired at the end of the 19-20 season. Under Ivey, the Irish made it to the Sweet Sixteen in each of the last four years.
This season, Notre Dame struggled early in the campaign but in mid-February hit their stride to win seven games in a row, and nearly won an eighth over the eventual ACC Tournament Champions Duke in a 65-63 defeat. Guard Hannah Hidalgo leads the Irish with 25.2 points, 5.4 steals and 5.3 assists, which earned the guard her third Associated Press All-American honor in three seasons, but her first on the Second Team after two years on the first.
Ohio State and Notre Dame play similar styles of basketball, both hoping to force turnovers in bunches and go out on the fast break. Hidalgo and Buckeye point guard Jaloni Cambridge each push pace and are arguably two of the quickest players in the nation, making Monday’s matchup a potential track meet.
A time for Monday’s jump is not set. The NCAA will announce a time for all Monday Second Round games after the full slate of Saturday games end.
