FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Mikayla Blakes thinks of her Sweet 16 showdown with Hannah Hidalgo more as Vanderbilt against Notre Dame than a matchup of two of the nation's top three scorers.
Commodores coach Shea Ralph would expect exactly that mentality from the Division I scoring leader, even during March Madness and the Fort Worth Regional 1 semifinals on Friday.
“You probably would have to be laying down on the ground not to be excited about what’s
going to happen tomorrow and being at this point in the season,” Ralph said. “I think Mikayla is motivated internally by lots of different things that don’t have anything to do with certain matchups or other players. She finds her joy and her motivation outside of that.”
The coach knows her player well.
“I take it how I take every game, just focus on the team really,” said Blakes, who just missed her first career triple-double with 25 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in a 75-57 win over Illinois to reach the Sweet 16. “We have to be together as a team offensively and defensively. Whatever it takes for me to do that, I’m willing to do. It’s not really, like, I’m looking like I have to do this, I have to do that. I’m going to play freely.”
Blakes, at 27.0 points per game, and the Fighting Irish's Hidaldo, third in the country with an average of 25.2 points, are the top two scorers still standing in the NCAA Tournament. Iowa State's Audi Crooks is second at 25.8, but her Cyclones lost in the first round.
There are reasons beyond scoring for the meeting of these standout guards to be special.
Blakes and Hidalgo were New Jersey high school stars when they faced off in 2023, and they played together for the United States last summer.
The elite scoring skills of Blakes, who has a strong sidekick in freshman point guard Aubrey Galvan, could be tested by one of the nation's best defenders. Hidalgo is the runaway D-I leader in steals at 5.6 per game.
“I think this whole game is just about playing together,” Hidalgo said. “It’s not about me versus Mikayla. It’s about Notre Dame versus Vanderbilt. It’s really just the way that we’re going to win the game (Friday) is by playing together like we’ve been doing the past couple of months.”
Hidalgo, who had 26 points, 13 rebounds and eight steals in a second-round victory over Ohio State, is in her third Sweet 16 in three seasons with sixth-seeded Notre Dame, still looking for her first trip to the Elite Eight.
Vanderbilt, a No. 2 seed, hasn't advanced this far since 2009, but has a sophomore in Blakes who is two points from surpassing career D-I scoring leader Caitlin Clark's overall point total through two seasons.
“She can score the ball in so many different ways,” said Hidalgo, who is trying to get the Fighting Irish to the Elite Eight for the first time since they lost to Baylor in the 2019 national championship game. “Like, Caitlin type of level. She can score on all three levels, whether that’s getting all the way to the basket, her midrange, or her (3-pointer). Of course, that’s always tough to guard.”
Ralph expects to be “witnessing greatness” along with everyone else, and doesn't feel the need to remind Blakes not to let the hype get in the way of her game as the Commodores seek their first trip to the Elite Eight in 24 years.
“She’s not our only great player, but watching Mikayla, coaching Mikayla, has been one of the greatest blessings of my career,” said Ralph, the fifth-year coach who was a longtime assistant at UConn after winning a national title with the Huskies alongside Sue Bird in 2000.
“Hannah is also a great player in her own right,” Ralph said. “What I do know about my player, Mikayla, is I don’t have to worry about her getting outside of herself. I never have, and my guess is I never will. She was built for these moments. She’s prepared and ready, and it really doesn’t matter who we play against.”
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
