Hannah Hidalgo made it clear. Even on historic games like the junior ACC Player of the Year had Saturday, March 21, Hidalgo isn’t playing for anyone or anything other than her teammates, her coaching staff, her family or her faith.
Not being named an Associated Press First Team All-American isn’t important to her, and her nearing the first quadruple-double in March Madness history ― men’s or women’s ― was not a response to being snubbed. What’s important is surviving and advancing, which is what No. 6 seed Notre Dame did against No. 11 seed Fairfield, 79-60, in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Round of 64.
The Irish were once again anchored by Hidalgo, who finished with 23 points, nine rebounds, eight steals and six assists.
“I don’t care about any of the accolades,” Hidalgo said. “I didn’t care about them going into this year, and I’m here to win.”
Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey emphatically echoed that sentiment, especially since Hidalgo broke one of her program records in Columbus. Her eight steals are the most by any Notre Dame player in an NCAA Tournament game.
“I believe she is a First Team All-American; We don’t need AP or anybody else to say that,” Ivey said.
Hidalgo is a USA Today Sports First Team All-American ― a unanimous one at that. She is also a semifinalist for the Naismith Player and Defensive Player of the Year award.
Her status as one of the country’s best players was not in doubt before Notre Dame (23-10) beat the Stags by 19, and it certainly isn’t after. Averaging 25.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.3 assists and an NCAA-best 5.5 steals per game, Hidalgo is the first player since 2000 to have that caliber of a stat line.
While she led the charge against Fairfield, Hidalgo wasn’t the only reason the Irish cruised to victory against the 53rd-best team in the NCAA NET Rankings.
How Notre Dame women’s basketball pulled away from Fairfield
Senior ACC Most Improved Player Cassandre Prosper stood out with 17 points and eight rebounds in what was her first NCAA Tournament game with double-digit scoring figures. Although she was slow to start, her 11 points in the second half gave the Irish a boost.
“What we wanted to do today was punch them in the face first,” Prosper said. “We want to do the same thing [Monday] and make sure we take their confidence away from the start. That’s going to take a lot of defensive intensity, and on offense, just being aggressive and not letting them dictate what we want.”
Notre Dame got out to an 11-4 lead in the first quarter, with seven of those points coming from Hidalgo. Fairfield, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) champions for the third-straight season, responded to cut the Irish’s lead to just five points at the end of the period.
The No. 6 seed’s lead grew to 12 points by halftime, thanks in part to three first-half 3-pointers from grad student Iyana Moore. She finished the game with 18 points.
The Stags, who were 28-4 and winners of 11 straight games heading into Saturday, also led Division I with 11 3-pointers per game on 30 attempts. They were held to just a 2-for-11 mark at halftime.
Where the Irish truly pulled away was with an 11-2 run to start the third quarter, leading 47-26 with still 5:50 left in the period.
“I didn’t want us to get complacent, because I feel like Fairfield is a great team that can go off in bunches with the way that they shoot the ball,” Ivey said.
The closest the Stags got to Notre Dame after that run was trailing by 16 points late in the fourth quarter. Defense has been Notre Dame’s identity all season, and that certainly was the case again vs. Fairfield.
Averaging just 13.3 per game, the Irish forced 19 turnovers out of the Stags, scoring 22 points off of them.
“I think we’ve definitely grown in so many different areas, and one of the biggest areas that we’ve grown [is] just being patient and being poised and not letting other teams speed us up,” Hidalgo said.
Hannah Hidalgo vs Jaloni Cambridge on deck
Next up for Notre Dame is a Round of 32 contest Monday, March 23 against No. 3 seed Ohio State (27-7) at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.
Leading the Buckeyes is USA Today Sports All-American Honorable Mention and All-Big Ten First Team sophomore Jaloni Cambridge, who scored 21 points in a Round of 64 win vs. No. 14 seed Howard (26-8) early Saturday afternoon. For the Irish to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the fifth straight season, Hidalgo will likely need to have another standout performance.
Following in the footsteps of past program greats like Skylar Diggins, Arike Ogunbowale and Ivey herself, the sixth-year head coach has no doubt Hidalgo will rise to the occasion just like she did against Fairfield.
“It’s a coach’s dream, to be honest,” Ivey said. “She’s an extension of me; we have a great relationship. She’s one of the best guards I’ve ever coached; she is phenomenal. [I have] never seen a two-way player do what she does.”
Kyle Smedley is a sports reporter at the South Bend Tribune. Contact him via email at ksmedley@usatodayco.com or follow him on X @KyleMSmedley.
This story was updated to reflect the start time of Monday’s game.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Hannah Hidalgo not worried about accolades as Notre Dame beats Fairfield
Reporting by Kyle Smedley, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
