Hannah Hidalgo has 31-point triple-double to lead Notre Dame past Vanderbilt in March Madness
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FORT WORTH, Texas - Hannah Hidalgo had 31 points, 11 rebounds, 10 steals and the assist on the go-ahead bucket in the final minute, leading Notre Dame to a 67-64 victory over higher-seeded Vanderbilt in the Sweet 16 on Friday.
The junior sparkplug made a leaping grab between two defenders and fed a bounce pass to Cassandre Prosper for the go-ahead bucket with 22 seconds to go.
The sixth-seeded Fighting Irish (25-10) advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2019 in a matchup of two of the top three scorers in Division I, Hidalgo and Mikayla Blakes.
Blakes, the national scoring leader, rallied from a rough shooting start to finish with 26 points for Vanderbilt, but lost the ball out of bounds on the dribble down two, then missed a 3-pointer as time expired.
The No. 2 seed Commodores (29-5) were in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2009.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS - MARCH 27: Hannah Hidalgo #3 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish reacts following a Sweet Sixteen round game against the Vanderbilt Commodores of the 2026 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament held at Dickies Arena on March 27, 2026 in F
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Hidalgo broke the NCAA's single-season record for steals after getting seven in the first half of a Sweet 16 game against Vanderbilt on Friday.
Hidalgo needed four steals to break Chastadie Barrs' mark of 192 set with Lamar in 2018-19. The Fighting Irish junior got that in the first quarter of the March Madness meeting with the Commodores.
Hidalgo was already just the second player to have at least eight steals in multiple NCAA Tournament games. She had eight in each of Notre Dame's first two tourney wins, over Fairfield and Ohio State.
Three of Hidalgo's steals came quickly against Vanderbilt midway through the second quarter.
She grabbed the ball out of Sacha Washington’s hands and went in alone for a layup, then stole a bad pass near midcourt. Her seventh steal soon after led to another easy layup for a 23-11 lead.
Hidalgo, the third-leading scorer in the country, had 16 points at halftime as the sixth-seeded Irish led No. 2 seed Vanderbilt 31-26.