COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) 鈥� Hannah Hidalgo had a dominant performance to show that she is still one of the best players in women’s basketball.
The Notre Dame junior had 23 points, nine rebounds, eight steals and six assists as the sixth-seeded Fighting Irish led the entire game en route to a 79-60 victory over 11th-seeded Fairfield on Saturday in the first round of .
Hidalgo was an AP first-team All-America selection her first two years, but was a second-team pick this season despite winning ACC player of the year for the second straight season.
When asked if she viewed the game as a statement or letting out frustration for not making the first team, Hidalgo said it wasn’t at all.
鈥淚鈥檓 going to still go out and play the same way I鈥檝e been playing. I鈥檝e been playing consistently this whole season and since my freshman year,鈥� she said. 鈥淩ight now it鈥檚 about winning so I don鈥檛 care about any of the accolades. I didn鈥檛 care about 鈥檈m going into this year and I鈥檓 here to win.鈥�
Hidalgo’s bigger aim is trying to get the Fighting Irish into the Sweet 16. They will face third-seeded Ohio State on Monday after the with a 75-54 win over Howard.
Notre Dame has reached the tournament’s second weekend in each of their last 14 March Madness trips.
Hidalgo, the Division I leader in steals, had five in the first half, along with 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists as the Fighting Irish had a 36-24 lead at the break. All told, Hidalgo factored on all but 10 points in the first two quarters.
The eight steals is the most by a Notre Dame player in an NCAA Tournament game, surpassing the previous mark of seven by Skylar Diggins and HIdalgo’s coach, Niele Ivey
鈥淚 think her success and her stats speaks for itself. But again I think she鈥檚 one of the best players in the country,” Ivey said. “We鈥檙e trying to win, and she mentioned that, like that鈥檚 second to anything else. When you have somebody with that maturity, that can do what she does, it鈥檚 phenomenal.鈥�
Iyana Moore scored 18 points and Cassandre Prosper had 17 points and eight rebounds as the Fighting Irish won for the 10th time in their last 12 games.
Notre Dame had a 36-24 advantage at halftime and put it out of reach with an 11-2 run to start the third. The Fighting Irish’s largest lead was 54-31 late in the third quarter.
鈥淥ur attempt was to try to kind of throw it up to somebody else so that we weren鈥檛 bringing the ball up in an open floor against her. But certainly she picked her moments and made us pay for it,鈥� Fairfield coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis said of Hidalgo. 鈥淪o when we were getting maybe a little bit of a defensive stop with some momentum to try to score in transition, she did a great job of halting that and we weren鈥檛 able to score with numbers. There鈥檚 not a lot of people out there like her, she鈥檚 very one-of-a-kind.鈥�
Long-distance woes
The Stags led the nation in 3-pointers, making 11.4 per game, but were 9 of 29 beyond the arc, including 2 of 11 in the first half.
Meghan Anderson led Fairfield with 21 points and Jillian Huerter scored 12. Kaety L鈥橝moreaux 鈥� the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference player of the year 鈥� had 7 points.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 even think we attempted enough 3s. We鈥檙e at our best when we get a couple of ball reversals and a paint touch,鈥� Thibault-DuDonis said. 鈥淚 thought they did a really nice job of digging in early in a possession, and we didn鈥檛 get to a second action enough to get to that point in an offensive possession. So in a microcosm, going forward, we need to be a little bit more physically tougher, mentally focused, to be who we are when someone tries to take away what we鈥檙e good at.鈥�
Up next
Notre Dame won its second national championship in Columbus in 2018 when it defeated Mississippi State in the title game of the Women’s Final Four. This will be only the second time in six meetings that they will face the Buckeyes on their home floor.
The Fighting Irish have a 4-1 series edge, including a 99-76 victory in a 2017 Sweet 16 matchup in Lexington, Kentucky.
___
AP March Madness bracket: and coverage:
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
