COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Hannah Hidalgo had a dominant performance with 23 points, nine rebounds, eight steals and six assists as sixth-seeded Notre Dame led the entire game en route to a 79-60 victory over 11th-seeded Fairfield on Saturday in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
The Fighting Irish, who have advanced to the Sweet 16 in their last 14 March Madness trips, will face third-seeded Ohio State on Monday. The Buckeyes advanced with a 75-54 win over Howard.
Iyana Moore scored 18 points and Cassandre Prosper had 17 points and eight rebounds as the Fighting Irish won for the 10th time in their last 12 games.
Meghan Anderson led Fairfield with 21 points. The Stags led the nation in 3-pointers, making 11.4 per game, but were 9 of 29 beyond the arc, including 2 of 11 in the first half.
Hidalgo — an AP second-team All-America selection and two-time ACC player of the year — had 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists and five steals in the first half as the Fighting Irish had a 36-24 lead at the break.
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
