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Irish Breakdown

Notre Dame Cruises Past Fairfield in First Round of NCAA Tournament

Notre Dame advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight year after blowing out Fairfield, 79-60, on Saturday.
Jared Shlensky|
Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Niele Ivey yells during the first round of the NCAA women's basketball tournament against the Fairfield Stags at Ohio State's Schottenstein Center in Columbus on March 21, 2026.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Niele Ivey yells during the first round of the NCAA women's basketball tournament against the Fairfield Stags at Ohio State's Schottenstein Center in Columbus on March 21, 2026. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Notre Dame might not be the mecca of women's college basketball, but they sure are one of the better programs in the nation. The Irish advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight year on Saturday after blowing out Fairfield, 79-60.

The game was competitive in the first half, but the Irish pulled away in the second half and never looked back. Both teams missed easy looks early on, but Notre Dame's physicality and pressure defense were simply too much for the Stags.

Notre Dame forced 19 turnovers and out-rebounded Fairfield, 43-31 led by dominant junior guard Hannah Hidalgo.

Hannah Hidalgo nearly records a quadruple-double

No women's college basketball player has ever recorded a quadruple-double in an NCAA Tournament, and I'm not sure anyone ever will. But Hidalgo came darn close.

Hidalgo finished Saturday's game with 23 points, nine rebounds, eight steals, and six assists, and was hands down the best player on the floor.

Hidalgo very well could have scored 30 points in this one if it weren't for a couple of missed layups and three pointers here and there, but still, she played well on Saturday.

She entered the NCAA Tournament first in the nation in steals per game (5.4) and easily went over her season average. Fairfield's guards had no answer for her on defense and struggled to get the ball past halfcourt consistently.

Hidalgo might have been able to record a quadruple-double if head coach Niele Ivey had played her the whole game, but she didn't. And that was the right decision.

Risking Hidalgo's health in a game that was over by the start of the fourth quarter simply isn't worth it, especially with Ohio State next up.

Notre Dame still has room to grow

Saturday's game was far from perfect, though. Just like Fairfield, Notre Dame missed a lot of easy layups and jump shots early on. Call it tournament jitters or whatever you want, but if the Irish are going to upset the Buckeyes, they need to get off to a much faster start.

But that's not all. The Irish also need Hidalgo to make some more shots.

Hidalgo made only eight of her 21 field goal attempts, and if there's one weakness in her game, it's her field goal percentage, especially from beyond the arc.

Hidalgo is shooting a career-worst 25% from three-point range, and ND is going to need her to knock down some three-pointers on Monday if they have a legit shot at advancing to the Sweet 16.

Next Up For Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament

Notre Dame's next game is on Monday against third-seeded Ohio State (27-7). Tip-off time for the second round matchup has yet to be announced.

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Jared Shlensky
JARED SHLENSKY

Jared Shlensky is a contributing writer for On SI and a freelance play-by-play broadcaster. Jared was previously a sports betting writer for Yardbarker, an On-Air YouTube Personality for the Sports Geek and a minor league play-by-play broadcaster

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