FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — 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 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 inMarch Madnessfor 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 anNCAA 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.
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FORT WORTH 1 REGIONAL
NO. 1 UCONN 63, NO 4. NORTH CAROLINA 42
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Sarah Strong had 21 points and 10 rebounds as defending national champion UConn overwhelmed North Carolina, sending the Huskies to theElite Eightof thewomen's NCAA Tournamentfor the 30th time.
Strong, a sophomore forward, is a North Carolina native and AP All-American alongside teammate Azzi Fudd. Strong made four consecutive field goals in a two-minute span right after Blanca Quiñonez put UConn (37-0) ahead to stay with a layup early in the second quarter.
Quiñonez scored 16 points and Fudd had 10 for the Huskies, who are seeking their 13th national championship. They extended their overall winning streak to 53 games.
Indya Nivar had 20 points for fourth-seeded North Carolina (28-8), which hasn't advanced past the Sweet 16 since 2014, which was 20 years after its only national title.
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage:https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness