ALBANY, N.Y. – The Notre Dame women’s basketball team lost 70-65 to Oregon State in the Sweet 16 at the Albany Regional on Friday afternoon.
The No. 2-seeded Fighting Irish couldn’t overcome an off night from their leading scorer Hannah Hidalgo, who had 10 points on 3-of-17 shooting and only two field goals in the second half.
No. 3 seed Oregon State relied on its talented front court of Timea Gardiner and Regan Byers. They each had double-doubles, with Gardiner having 20 points, 11 rebounds and four assists, while the Bears had 18 points and 13 rebounds.
The Beavers turned the ball over a season-high 26 times, the most turnovers for the program since 2017–18.
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Notre Dame women’s basketball doesn’t go down without a fight
Gardiner knocked down a 3-pointer in the final minute of the first half.
The Beavers carried that momentum into the third quarter with a 14-2 run, going 5 of 6 from the field. Gardiner had seven points during the stretch that gave his team a 43–33 lead, the largest score of the game for either team.
Notre Dame showed great composure by taking the lead. The Fighting Irish battled back to tie the game on their final possession of the quarter and took their first lead of the second half with 8:22 remaining in the fourth quarter when Natalija Marshall sank a long two for her first basket of the game. Hit the shot.
It remained a one-possession game for long periods of time until OSU got back-to-back 3-pointers from freshman Donovin Hunter and Lily Hansford with less than three minutes left.
Both 3-pointers came from offensive rebounds.
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Notre Dame faces unexpected obstacles in first half
Notre Dame kept pace with Oregon State while Hannah Hidalgo and Maddie Westbeed had long stretches on the bench during the first half.
Injuries have depleted the Fighting Irish’s depth this season – the most recent of which was Kylie Watson suffering a torn ACL in the ACC Tournament – and they are playing only six players.
Hidalgo sat out the first 4:49 minutes of the second quarter to have her nose ring removed. While the freshman sported stud piercings all year, NCAA rules ban jewelry. She sat at the far end of the bench while several trainers worked to get her out.
The freshman guard led Notre Dame in scoring with 22.9 points, 5.6 assists and 4.6 steals per game this season and earned first-team All-American honors. He was hit by a shot by the Bears later in the game that left him with a frustrated appearance. Hidalgo struggled to get into a rhythm on 2-of-14 shooting in the first three quarters.
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Notre Dame was not at full strength for long in the second quarter after Hidalgo returned.
Maddie Westbeld, who was assigned to guard the Bears, checked out at 4:00 after picking up her third foul. He had nine points (4 of 6) in the half.
The size of the state of Oregon was obvious from the beginning.
The Beavers outshot Notre Dame 23–9 in the first half and six offensive rebounds. He attempted to pass the ball to Bearse, a 6-foot-4 forward who had 12 points and seven rebounds at halftime. Every time she touched the ball she was causing double teams in the paint.
Notre Dame neutralized that advantage by scoring 14 points on 12 turnovers in the first half. Oregon State equaled its season average of 13.3 turnovers per game in just 20 minutes of play.
