BASKETBALL

Oregon State women’s basketball vs. Notre Dame in NCAA Tournament Sweet 16: What to know

Alec Dietz
Eugene Register-Guard

For the first time since 2019, the Oregon State women’s basketball team has advanced to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament and will play No. 2 Notre Dame in Albany, New York, for a spot in the Regional Final.

The No. 3 Beavers and Fighting Irish will play at MVP Arena in Albany at 11:30 a.m. Friday on ESPN. The winner will play the winner of No. 1 South Carolina and No. 4 Indiana on Sunday.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Hannah Hidalgo (3) goes up for a shot as Ole Miss Rebels guard Kennedy Todd-Williams (3) defends in the second half of the NCAA Tournament second round game at the Purcell Pavilion March 25 in South Bend, Indiana.

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Winners of their last 10 games, including an ACC Tournament championship, the Fighting Irish (28-6, 13-5 ACC) were one of the hottest teams in the country entering the tournament and have won each of their first two tournament games decisively.

Notre Dame opened its season with a near-30-point loss to South Carolina, but has wins over ranked teams such as Tennessee, UConn, Duke, Virginia Tech, Louisville and NC State.

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Oregon State guard Talia von Oelhoffen passes off the ball as the Oregon State Beavers take on the Nebraska Huskers in the second round of the NCAA Tournament March 24 at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis.

Players to watch for Oregon State vs. Notre Dame in March Madness

For Oregon State, Raegan Beers is the star in the middle — both offensively and defensively — averaging 17.5 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, but anyone is prone to have a big game, off the bench or otherwise.

Timea Gardiner had a career-high four blocks against Nebraska on Sunday, and averages 11.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, while Talia von Oelhoffen averages 10.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists per contest at guard.

The Irish, meanwhile, score with a lot less balance, but just as efficiently. Superstar freshman Hannah Hidalgo averages a team-high 22.9 points per game along with 6.2 rebounds and 5.6 assists. Senior post Maddy Westbeld adds 14.2 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, and junior guard Sonia Citron scores 17.1 points per game to round out an Irish “Big Three.”

Oregon State forward Raegan Beers cheers as she leaves the court as the Oregon State Beavers host Eastern Washington in the first round of the NCAA Tournament March 22 at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis.

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While the Beavers dispatched Eastern Washington with ease and scraped past No. 6 Nebraska in a defensive slugfest, 61-51, the Fighting Irish dominated No. 15 Kent State and No. 7 Ole Miss in South Bend.

In Notre Dame’s second round matchup against Ole Miss — a 71-56 win — Westbeld, Hidalgo and Citron combined to score 56 points and the Irish held the Rebels to 38% shooting from the field.

Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football, volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com and you can follow him on X @AlecDietz.