Ohio State started Monday’s NCAA tournament game against Notre Dame with an 11-0 run.
But the Fighting Irish holstered a weapon that the Buckeyes could not counter: Hannah Hidalgo.
Notre Dame recovered from Ohio State’s opening blow to tie the game at 24. From there, Hidalgo paced the Fighting Irish on both sides of the floor to an 83-63 upset win.
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With the win, the 6th-seeded Irish advance to the Sweet 16. The season concludes earlier than expected for the 3rd-seeded Buckeyes.
Hidalgo stuffs stat sheet
Hidalgo did it all. The three-time All-American and NCAA steals champion came up just short of a steals triple-double while posting a career high in rebounds. She finished the game with 26 points, 13 rebounds, 8 steals and 2 assists. The 20-point effort was her ninth straight.
Jaloni Cambridge countered with a career-high 41 points and 7 rebounds for Ohio State. But the effort did little to stem Hidalgo’s tide.
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Hidalgo’s now up to 16 steals in the NCAA tournament after posting eight in Saturday’s win over Fairfield. And with 189 steals, she’s five away from breaking the NCAA’s single-season record of 193. With 5.5 steals per game, she’s on pace to break it in the Sweet 16.
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Hidalgo fouled out with 40.2 seconds remaining and the game’s outcome secured, providing her with a well-earned curtain call and congratulations from the Notre Dame bench.
The Fighting Irish may be the underdog in any tournament game the play moving forward. But they’ll have an advantage in Hidalgo that few, if any teams can match.
This story will be updated.
