Irish Roll Past Fairfield In NCAA Tournament First Round, 79-60 – Notre Dame Fighting Irish – Official Athletics Website

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The largest stars shine brightest on the largest stage and Hannah Hidalgo is a licensed star. The junior phenom led Notre Dame to a 79-60 win over No. 11 seed Fairfield within the first spherical of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday afternoon contained in the Schottenstein Center.

The Fighting Irish will tackle No. 3 seed Ohio State in a second spherical matchup on Monday in Columbus with the winner advancing to the Sweet Sixteen in Fort Worth subsequent weekend.

Hidalgo was masterful in all aspects of the sport, flirting with a quadruple double. The guard completed with 23 factors, 9 rebounds, eight steals and 6 assists to guide the Irish to the victory over the Stags.

Iyana Moore was the second-leading scorer within the contest, ending with 18 factors on the afternoon.

Cassandre Prosper additionally had an enormous recreation, scoring 17 factors off 7-of-12 capturing to associate with eight rebounds. The 17 factors are probably the most the senior has scored in an NCAA Tournament recreation in his profession.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Irish constructed a five-point benefit over the primary 10 minutes of motion, main 17-12 on the finish of the primary quarter. Notre Dame scored eight of the primary 10 factors coming from two made buckets a chunk from Hidalgo and Prosper. Hidalgo paced the offense with seven factors within the first body.

Notre Dame rapidly pushed its result in double figures, scoring seven of the primary eight factors of the second stanza to make the rating 24-13 with slightly below 7 minutes left within the half.

Fairfield managed to chop the Irish result in seven at 29-22 with 2 minutes remaining within the half however Notre Dame closed by scoring seven of the ultimate 9 factors to take a 36-24 lead into the halftime intermission.

Hidalgo had 13 factors, seven rebounds, 5 steals and 5 assists on the break. Moore additionally carried helped the offensive load with 10 factors.

The Fighting Irish took full management of the sport over the primary 5 minutes of the third quarter, outscoring the Stags 11-2 to take a 21-point lead at 47-36. Notre Dame led by as many as 23 within the third quarter (54-31) earlier than taking a 19-point benefit into the ultimate 10 minutes of play at 62-43.

The Irish and Stags each scored 17 factors within the fourth quarter as Notre Dame cruised to the 79-60 victory to maneuver on within the match.

NOTRE DAME STAT OF THE GAME

The Irish dominated down low, outscoring the Stags 44-22 for factors within the paint.

NOTRE DAME NOTES

• Notre Dame improves to 76-28 within the NCAA Tournament in program historical past, together with a mark of 27-4 in first spherical contests.
• The Irish improved to 2-0 towards Fairfield within the all-time collection.
• With eight steals, Hidalgo handed Dawn Staley (454) for second place within the ACC file books for profession steals, as Hidalgo now has 460 in her profession.
• Hidalgo’s eight steals are a program file for steals in an NCAA Tournament recreation.
• Hidalgo has scored 20 or extra factors in eight straight video games, marking the third time in her profession she has recorded a minimum of eight straight video games with 20+ factors.
• With 23 factors, Hidalgo has scored 20+ factors in 26 video games this season and 77 video games in his profession, which is this system file.
• Hidalgo has completed in double figures within the scoring column in all 100 video games of his profession, the longest streak in program historical past and the longest lively streak within the nation.
• Hidalgo is one in every of 5 gamers this century to publish a number of NCAA Tournament video games of a minimum of 20 factors, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals.
• Moore moved into the highest 5 in program historical past for made three pointers in a season with 77.
• Moore knocked down 4 photographs from past the arc and has achieved the feat 11 instances this season.

UP NEXT

The Irish will tackle the No. 3 seed Ohio State Buckeyes on Monday, March 23 contained in the Schottenstein Center in Columbus within the second spherical of the NCAA Tournament with a spot within the Sweet 16 on the road. The recreation will air on one of many ESPN household of networks.