FORT WORTH, Texas — With her eighth steal of the Sweet Sixteen in the third quarter against 2-seed Vanderbilt Friday, March 27, 6-seed Notre Dame’s junior star Hannah Hidalgo broke the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament for the most steals in a single tournament with 24. In about 10 and a half quarters of play, Hidalgo has eight steals per game, putting up that many in the round of 64 against Fairfield and the round of 32 against Ohio State.
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Player and Defensive Player of the Year, who is also a Naismith Women’s College Defensive Player of the Year Finalist, also broke the NCAA single-season steals record against the Commodores. Hidalgo is at 197 and counting this season.
Early in the regular season when Notre Dame beat Akron 85-58 Nov. 12, Hidalgo set an NCAA single-game record with 16 steals. She averaged the most steals per game in the NCAA heading into the Sweet Sixteen with 5.6.
As of publication, the Irish lead the Commodores 39-31. Hidalgo also has 18 points and four rebounds. As a team, Notre Dame has forced 19 Vanderbilt turnovers.
The most turnovers the Irish have forced in a game this season is 25, but that was against a Southern Methodist squad ranked 223rd in the NCAA NET. The Commodores coughed the ball up 16 times in the first half alone Friday.
Should Notre Dame advance to the Elite Eight, it would be the first time it has done so with Hidalgo on the roster.
The Irish are playing the Commodores at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, and the game is being broadcast on ESPN. Streaming is available with any subscription or cable package including DirectTV, YouTube TV, ESPN+, Hulu+ Live TV, Sling TV, Fubo and more.
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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