We have a new frontrunner for the performance of the NCAA Tournament. Hello, Hannah Hidalgo!
Hidalgo had an unreal triple-double in No. 6-seed Notre Dame’s 67-64 upset win over No. 2-seed Vanderbilt.
She had a stat line of 31 points, 10 steals and 11 rebounds. Registering that many steals is rare, and such defensive pressure was essential to a Fighting Irish scheme that stymied the Commodores.
On the offensive
side, her 31 points featured another rarity in today’s game: zero 3-point makes. In fact, of Hidalgo’s 25 shot attempts, only two were from beyond the arc.
That’s because she terrorized Vandy from inside the paint. She cut through their defense like a knife does to butter.
She got in the paint whenever she wanted and those paint touches turned into made baskets or trips to the free throw line. With Hidalgo leading the charge, Notre Dame was in position to win, but far from a guaranteed result late in the game.
With 1:28 left to play and the game even at 62, Vanderbilt had possession. Hidalgo then flipped the script on the Commodores, generating a steal and following it up with a layup to retake the lead.
Aubrey Galvan knocked down a pair of free throws for Vandy to tie the game again, but then Notre Dame scored thanks to one of Hidalgo’s seven assists, which led to a Cassandre Prosper basket. Prosper scored again at the free throw line to give the Fighting Irish a three-point advantage.
Vanderbilt had one more chance to score, but Mikayla Blake’s 3 missed the mark. It was poetic that Hidalgo grabbed the rebound off Blake’s miss as the clock struck zero, giving Notre Dame the win.
As the crowd burst into a frenzy, she ran to the opposite side of the floor and leaped into the arms of head coach Niele Ivey, relishing the moment as Notre Dame would finally return to the Elite Eight after losing in the Sweet Sixteen round the last four years.
The path won’t get easier for Notre Dame as they take on UConn, who also won on Friday, beating North Carolina 63-42, but the Huskies’ head coach, Geno Auriemma, took notice of Hidalgo’s performance.
He called it “one for the ages,” and for a person who has won 12 national championships, steered teams to six perfect seasons (and is currently attempting a seventh), that’s certainly saying something.
Ashlon Jackson comes through against LSU to keep Duke dancing
No. 2-seed LSU vs. No. 3-seed Duke was an instant classic that ended with the Blue Devils winning 87-85 off a thrilling 3-pointer by Ashlon Jackson.
Duke controlled the game in the first half, but in the second, LSU took charge and pulled ahead. The Blue Devils responded by going on an 8-0 run in the fourth and looked to cruise to victory.
However, the Tigers are a tough out. They slowly chipped away at the lead, and after a Mikaylah Williams layup with 63 seconds left, they had cut down the deficit to just one point.
Williams then scored a pair on a pair of free throws to complete the comeback and give LSU a one-point edge with eight seconds to play.
Taina Mair missed a 3, but Duke got the rebound and called a timeout with two seconds left to play. They needed a miracle to advance, and Jackson delivered. Jordan Wood inbounded the ball to Jackson, who raced to the 3-point line, took a dribble, pump faked to create separation, and rattled home the game-winner.
Jackson had 19 points in the win and only made two 3s, but the final one was the most important jumper of Duke’s season so far. Mair scored 22 points, and so did Toby Fournier.
For LSU, Williams had 22 points, and MiLaysia Fulwiley scored a game-high 28 off the bench. It was a disappointing end for the Tigers, but the Blue Devils were just a bit better down the stretch.
UConn, UCLA flex No. 1-seed superiority in Sweet 16 wins
No. 1-seed UConn continues to be a juggernaut, beating No. 4-seed North Carolina 63-42. Sarah Strong scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the win, and Blanca Quiñonez stepped up, scoring 16 off the bench.
For the Tarheels, Indya Nivar was the team’s offensive engine, scoring 20 points.
Early on, UNC played well against UConn and even led 12-11 after one quarter. However, the Huskies turned up the heat in the second quarter, holding the Tarheels to just eight points, and that pretty much wrapped up the game.
UCLA was the other No. 1 seed playing on Friday, and they took care of business, beating No. 4-seed Minnesota 80-56. The tides of this game turned in the second half, when the Bruins outscored the Golden Gophers 19-12 and held Minnesota to just 15 points in the fourth quarter.
Kiki Rice scored 21 points for UCLA, and Lauren Betts had 16 in the win. For Minnesota, offense was a problem as Grace Grocholski and Sophie Hart were the only two players in double figures. Grocholski scored 11, and Hart had 10.
UCLA has now reached the Elite Eight for the fourth time in the program’s history.
