Notre Dame women's basketball advances to Elite 8 with win vs Vanderbilt – South Bend Tribune

FORT WORTH, Texas — One of the most highly-anticipated NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament games so far this season delivered Friday, March 27 at Dickies Arena, as 6-seed Notre Dame and junior Hannah Hidalgo put on a barnburner against 2– seed Vanderbilt and Mikayla Blakes in the Sweet Sixteen. In the end, the Irish advanced to the Elite Eight with a 67-64 victory.
Notre Dame led the entire game until a free throw from Blakes with 2:16 left in the fourth quarter gave the Commodores their first lead, 60-59. The Irish led by as much as 12 points in the second quarter.
After the Blakes free throw, Notre Dame grad student and Vanderbilt transfer Iyana Moore responded with a mid-range jumper to give the Irish the lead right back. Then, Blakes hit a jumper of her own to put the Commodores back in front.
Hannah Hidalgo sets NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament steals record
Notre Dame vs Vanderbilt in NCAA Women’s Basketball Sweet Sixteen | Preview
Senior Cassandre Prosper tied the game on a free throw with 1:28 left, then Hidalgo responded with a steal and a score to give the Irish a 64-62 lead with 1:06 remaining. At that point, Hidalgo notched a double-double with 31 points and 10 steals.
Southeastern Conference (SEC) Freshman of the Year Aubrey Galvan then hit two free throws to tie the game back up at 64 apiece with 56 seconds left.
With 23 seconds left, Prosper hit a layup to give Notre Dame a 66-64 lead, prompting a timeout from SEC Coach of the Year Shea Ralph. Blakes got the ball off the inbound and a miffed dribble led to a turnover.
Prosper was soon fouled and hit one of two free throws to extend the Irish’s lead to three. Vanderbilt had two chances to score with 14 seconds left, but the Commodores missed both shots as Notre Dame advanced to its first Elite Eight since 2019 with a victory.
Hidalgo rushed toward sixth-year head coach Niele Ivey for a long hug, during which Ivey covered her face to hide tears. This was Ivey’s first Sweet Sixteen victory as Notre Dame’s leader.
Hidalgo set two NCAA records Friday, as her 198 steals are the most in a single-season and her 25 steals are a single-tournament record. She finished with 10 steals, 31 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
The leading scorer for Vanderbilt was Blakes with 26 points, while Galvan had 24. Prosper joined Hidalgo in double figures for Notre Dame with 15.
The X-factor was 23 forced turnovers for the Irish, their third-most this season against a Power-5 opponent.
Kyle Smedley is a sports reporter at the South Bend Tribune. Contact him via email at [email protected] or follow him on X @KyleMSmedley. 

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