FORT WORTH, Texas – Notre Dame vs Vanderbilt in the Sweet Sixteen isn’t any ordinary six vs. two seed NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament game.
With junior ACC Player of the Year Hannah Hidalgo leading the Irish and sophomore SEC Player of the Year Mikayla Blakes leading the Commodores, it’ll be the first time in a quarter-century that two players averaging 25-plus points per game go head-to-head in March Madness.
However, it isn’t the first time Hidalgo and Blakes have faced each other. It isn’t even the second.
On Feb. 11, 2023, Hidalgo led Paul IV High School to a 72-67 victory over Blakes’ Rutgers Prep in their home state. The hometowns of Hidalgo, a Merchantville, New Jersey, native and Blakes, a Somerset, New Jersey, native, are only approximately 60 miles apart.
Hidalgo, who was a senior already committed to the Irish at the time, put up 29 points, 11 rebounds, five steals and four assists, while Blakes, an uncommitted five-star junior recruit at the time, scored 24 points and dished out four assists. The two also clashed in an AAU summer league as high schoolers, and Hidalgo said she won that game, too.
The two have even been teammates, both suiting up for the 2025 USA Basketball AmeriCup squad the summer before their current historic seasons. Blakes is one of four Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year Finalists, while Hidalgo is one of four Naismith Women’s College Defensive Player of the Year Finalists.
“They were always tough games, especially with her running the team,” Hidalgo said. “… Playing with her at USA, to be able to see her defensive side and her ability to pick up full-court, turn the ball over and get stops was really impressive to see her game [come] full-circle.”
Although she didn’t grow up with four brothers like Hidalgo did, Blakes attributed her own older brother to the same competitive spirt Hidalgo shows each time they step onto the court. With a trip to the Elite Eight on the line at 2:30 p.m. ET Friday, March 27 in Dickies Arena, it’ll be hard to find a fierier college basketball game the entire weekend.
“We play with such a competitiveness and relentlessness that we just want to win,” Blakes said. “We prove ourselves every time we step on the court. It might be something in New Jersey ― I have no clue ― but I just see it through every New Jersey hooper.”
Ivey vs Ralph set tone for Hidalgo vs Blakes
Commodores head coach Shea Ralph has been surrounded by elite college basketball players for 30 years. First, it was as a student-athlete at UConn from 1996-2001, playing alongside Huskies and WNBA legend Sue Bird.
UConn played Notre Dame three times in Ralph’s senior season, with the Irish winning in the regular season, the Huskies winning in the Big East Championship game and Notre Dame getting the last laugh in the NCAA Tournament Final Four. The starting point guard for the Irish in all three games? Current Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey.
Ralph witnessed more greatness as an assistant coach for UConn from 2008-2021, helping head coach Geno Auriemma lead the likes of Maya Moore, Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier and others. Along the way, Ralph and the Huskies ran into Notre Dame countless times, including in the 2011-13 Final Four, the 2014 and 2015 National Championship, and the 2018 and 2019 Final Four.
For every game, Ivey was also an assistant coach for Notre Dame as the Irish went 4-3 during that stretch. While Ivey and Ralph’s shared history potentially surpasses that of home-state rivals Hidalgo and Blakes, the spotlight will be firmly on the players Friday.
Each head coach gave their pitch about what gives their respective player the edge.
“I’ve watched her blossom and develop and she’s gotten even brighter. It’s hard to even fathom that,” Ivey said of Hidalgo. “She’s very, very smart offensively and defensively, but I think that’s what I love about her.”
Hidalgo has scored at least 10 points in all 101 games of her Irish career, but she’s currently on an eight-game stretch of scoring at least 20. In five postseason games – ACC Championship and NCAA Tournament – Hidalgo is averaging 25.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 5.4 steals and four assists per contest.
The Irish are 4-1 in those games, including their most recent upset of 3 seed Ohio State in the Round of 32 Monday, March 23. However, during Blakes’ three postseason games, she’s putting up 26.3 points, five rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.3 steals per outing.
She is the NCAA’s leader in total points per game with 27.
“She was built for these moments,” Ralph said of Blakes. “She’s prepared and ready, and it really doesn’t matter who we play against.”
Hidalgo is excited for her third game against Blakes, hoping to improve her personal record against the latter to 3-0. Even with how much they each still remember about their high school battles, both are more concerned this time around with team success.
Notre Dame can head to its first Elite Eight since 2019, while Vanderbilt has a shot to reach that stage for the first time since 2002.
“It was a show; two dynamic guards, and I had to guard her the whole game,” Hidalgo said. “It’s not about me versus Mikayla – It’s about Notre Dame versus Vanderbilt.”
Except, it will be about Hidalgo vs. Blakes. At least, that may be how the Sweet Sixteen is decided.
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 article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Hidalgo, Blakes ready for Sweet 16 women’s basketball showdown
Reporting by Kyle Smedley, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
