Hannah Hidalgo leads Notre Dame past Ohio State to the Sweet-16 again
Notre Dame women’s basketball continued its Sweet-16 streak, as its upset win over Ohio State puts it at five seasons in-a-row.
It’s becoming a habit for Notre Dame women’s basketball to make the Sweet-16 (now five-straight), and on Monday after the Irish once again will be four wins away from a National Championship after beating Ohio State 83-73 in Columbus, Ohio. The Buckeyes had a decided home court advantage, but after a slow start, Notre Dame turned on the juice and never looked back. The Irish started off the game trailer 9-0 after the first few minutes, but navigated Ohio State’s first punch and responded with their own.
The second quarter saw Notre Dame overtake the Buckeyes and enter the half with a 43-35 lead. The “home team” made a run early in the third, but couldn’t push ahead, and the Irish looked like they were in for a fourth quarter battle, starting with a 58-54 lead. Notre Dame would explode early in the final quarter, taking an 11-point lead with 4-minutes remaining.
Ohio State would try to get back into the game, but the Irish didn’t allow it. Guard Hannah Hidalgo once again was the star, scoring 26-points, grabbing 13-rebounds with eight steals and two assists. The rebounds were a career-high , and following her 21st point of the game, she passed Arike Agunbowale for the programs single-season scoring record .
Including the star, Notre Dame had five players in double-figures. The Irish will wait to see who they’ll play next, as they await the winner of No. 2 Vanderbilt and No.