Hannah Hidalgo’s Notre Dame rolls into Sweet 16 with 71-56 win over Ole Miss

Hidalgo had 19 points, four rebounds, four assists, and four steals, one of three Fighting Irish players to hit double figures in scoring.

Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo celebrates a teammate's three-pointer during the first half.Read moreMichael Caterina / AP

by Jonathan Tannenwald

Updated March 25, 2024, 6:06 p.m. ET

Published March 25, 2024, 4:27 p.m. ET

There was some chatter before Notre Dame’s NCAA Tournament second-round game on Monday that visiting Ole Miss was an upset threat.

Whether or not Hannah Hidalgo and company heard it, they certainly showed they weren’t having it.

The No. 2-seed Fighting Irish jumped out to a 21-9 lead in the first quarter and rolled from there to a 71-56 win, booking a trip to the Sweet 16 in Albany, N.Y., this weekend.

Hidalgo, a South Jersey native, had 19 points, four rebounds, four assists, and four steals. Maddy Westbeld led all scorers with 20 points and had five rebounds, two blocks, two steals, and one assist. And Sonia Citron once again had a standout stat line: 17 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, and one steal.

“I was just locked in this game — I think we all were,” Hidalgo said. “We came out with this mentality that we were going to go on a 10-0 run, and we were just going to stop them from the jump. We knew that we needed to hit them before they kind of hit us, because they’re a great team, they’re really athletic.”

Notre Dame will next play No. 3 Oregon State on Friday (2:30 p.m., ESPN). Dawn Staley’s overall No. 1 South Carolina will face No. 4 Indiana in the other regional semifinal.

It’s been five years since the Fighting Irish last reached the Elite Eight. Coach Niele Ivey has yet to do it in her four-season tenure, falling in the Sweet 16 in each of the last two seasons. Could this be the year for the breakthrough? Ivey’s team certainly has the talent, with Hidalgo a big piece of the puzzle.

“I think her will is what makes her special, and because of her will, I mean, she steps on the court and she has no fear,” Ivey said, and she knows especially well what it takes. Ivey won a national championship at Notre Dame as a player, then played five years in the WNBA.

“When you have a point guard that’s playing with no fear, everyone is confident around her because of that,” Ivey said. “And I think — I hope — the next 40 minutes, that helps us get a little bit further, just having somebody with that type of presence, that type of swag. At this point, it’s confidence that gets you to the next round, and she carries that confidence with her, and it’s contagious.”