SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Hannah Hidalgo showed why she was named an All-American during Notre Dame’s second-round win over Michigan in the NCAA tournament on Sunday. Hidalgo scored 21 points as the Fighting Irish won 76-55 at Purcell Pavilion, earning Notre Dame a spot in the Sweet 16.
“When we are all playing together as a team, how well we dominate and how well we take the team’s heart. I’m really proud of my team, how we took the other team’s heart from the jump,” Hidalgo said.
In her final game in South Bend, second-team All-American Olivia Miles scored eight points and added five assists. She left Friday’s win over Stephen F. Austin early with an ankle injury, and was still receiving treatment on Saturday. She didn’t go through warm-ups with her teammates on Sunday, but started the game with no problems. Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey said that Miles spent the last 48 hours getting extensive treatment on her ankle to prepare her for the game.
“Liv, she did exactly what she’s supposed to do,” Ivey said. “Thank God she had the opportunity to come out here. I thought she was really good. I know she’s playing through a lot of pain.”
After the game, Miles gave an emotional address to the fans at Purcell Pavilion.
Olivia Miles gets emotional addressing Notre Dame fans after her final game at Purcell Pavilion, a 76-55 second round NCAA Tournament win over Michigan.
She leaves them with this on the Fighting Irish’s way to the Sweet 16…
“Job’s not done. We’re just starting. I love y’all.” pic.twitter.com/HGIxKP86uW
— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) March 23, 2025
Notre Dame’s speed served them well on both offense and defense as they disrupted Michigan’s game plan. They held the Wolverines to 36.8 percent from the field. Syla Swords, Michigan’s freshman phenom, averages 6.1 three-point attempts per game, but she only managed three in this game.
“They have been focused and locked in, and I’m really proud of them,” Ivey said. “Because again, it has not been easy. Being their coach, challenging them, and they responded so well. And they know that this is the way we need to be. This is our identity and to see it on a consistent basis in the last week and a half has been great.”
The Irish will now head to Birmingham for the Sweet 16, where they will face the winner of TCU-Louisville.
Notre Dame went 2-0 this season against Louisville, a conference foe, beating the Cardinals by 13-plus points in each game. But the Fighting Irish lost 76-68 to TCU in November at the Cayman Islands in November.
With this win, Notre Dame is now going to its fourth-straight Sweet 16. Last year’s team, which played without an injured Miles all season, was knocked out at that point by Oregon State. Notre Dame’s last championship was in 2018, and its last Final Four appearance was in 2019.
Though Notre Dame was ranked No. 1 in the AP and coaches polls in February, back-to-back regular season losses followed by a semifinal loss to Duke in the ACC tournament brought the Irish back down to earth. They took time off after their conference tournament, and returned to the court refreshed.
“It kind of put a mirror to the things we needed to fix and I think sometimes winning covers things up,” Ivey said on Saturday. “I always feel like there’s lessons in losses and so as hard as it was, I feel like we came out on the other side as far as getting better and focusing on being sharper.”
In their first-round match-up with No. 14 seed Stephen F. Austin on Friday, the Irish won 106-54. Hidalgo and Citron each scored 24 points. But the bigger question was how Notre Dame would handle the test of Michigan, a team with young stars who made it to the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament. As they proved with Sunday’s second-round win, the Fighting Irish are built for a March Madness run.
