Niele Ivey shares message to Hannah Hidalgo entering crunch time of Sweet 16 vs. Oregon State

Notre Dame is locked in a tight battle with Oregon State in the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament. The Beavers held a 53-50 lead entering the fourth quarter as the two teams are playing for a spot in the Elite Eight.

Hannah Hidalgo has starred for the Irish all season, but the freshman has struggled thus far in the huge NCAA Tournament game.

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Through three quarters, Hidalgo was 2-for-13 from the field and managed only six points. Irish coach Niele Ivey shared with ESPN what her message was to Hidalgo heading down the stretch.

“Telling her to let it go, next play,” Niele Ivey told ESPN’s Holly Rowe. “I mean, I know she’s frustrated and I told her let it go. Let it go. Next play. You’ve got, at that time, 12 more minutes… 12 more minutes to get to the Elite Eight. Let it go, keep playing.”

Hannah Hidalgo has been one of the best players in the country all season. She entered Friday’s game averaging 22.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.6 assists. However, she had an off game against Oregon State.

The good news for the Irish is that others stepped up to keep Notre Dame in the game.

Sonia Citron had 17 points through three quarters to lead the way for the Irish, while Maddy Westbeld had 17 points through three quarters.

Niele Ivey praised the junior Citron and senior Westbeld for keeping the Irish in it.

“So solid, so locked in. You can tell they’re leaders,” Ivey said. “Maddy’s a senior, she’s been here before. They’re leading us with just their passion and energy.”

The winner of Friday’s Sweet 16 matchup between Oregon State and Notre Dame will advance to face the winner of South Carolina and Indiana in the Elite 8.

The Gamecocks are heavily favored entering the matchup with the Hoosiers as they are 34-0 on the year. However, don’t count out the Hoosiers, who are 26-5 and have earned some big wins.

Indiana beat Tennessee and Iowa during the regular season. Iowa beat South Carolina in last year’s NCAA Tournament, while the Vols nearly pulled off the upset in the SEC Tournament, before losing on a buzzer beater. It will be interesting to see how the Albany 1 Regional unfolds over the next few days.