Notre Dame advances in NCAA Tournament behind Hannah Hidalgo’s 31-point triple-double

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 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 on Friday.The junior sparkplug made a leaping grab between two defenders and fed a bounce pass to Cassandre Prosper under the basket for a two-point lead with 22 seconds to go.The sixth-seeded Fighting Irish (25-10) advanced to the Elite Eight in March Madness for the first time since 2019 in a matchup of two of the top three scorers in Division I, Hidalgo and Mikayla Blakes.Notre Dame will play either top-seeded and undefeated UConn or North Carolina in the Fort Worth Regional 1 final Sunday.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 after Prosper’s go-ahead shot, 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.In a game full of big plays from Hidalgo as she set an NCAA single-season record for steals, the biggest didn’t have anything to do with the categories in her unusual triple-double, the third of her career. Although it did lead to her team-leading seventh assist.With a high-arching inbound pass coming down as she ran between two defenders, the 5-foot-6 Hidalgo soared to make the catch, came down and immediately found Prosper…

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