(Fort Worth) — To go somewhere she had not gone before, Hannah Hidalgo had to play at a level she had not gone before.

Mission accomplished.

The All-American Hidalgo had 31 points, 11 rebounds, 10 steals and the assist on the go-ahead bucket in the final minute, leading Notre Dame to a 67-64 victory over second-seeded Vanderbilt in the Sweet 16 on Friday.

“i wouldn’t be able to do that without my teammates, without them finishing, without them getting me open,” said a humble Hidalgo. “I give all thanks to them. They do their jobs really well and make the game so much easier for me.”

The junior sparkplug made a leaping grab between two defenders and fed a bounce pass to Cassandre Prosper under the basket for a two-point lead with 22 seconds to go.

“A lot of people doubted us,” admonished a jubilant Hidalgo. “It’s such a great moment. I’m just so happy for it. To finally get over that hump, it’s a blessing, such a blessing.”

The sixth-seeded Fighting Irish (25-10) advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2019 . Notre Dame will play either top-seeded and undefeated UConn or North Carolina in the regional final Sunday.

Blakes, the national scoring leader, rallied from a 1-15 shooting start to finish with 26 points for Vanderbilt, but lost the ball out of bounds on the dribble after Prosper’s go-ahead shot, then missed a 3-pointer as time expired.

The No. 2 seed Commodores (29-5) were in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2009.

In a game full of big plays from Hidalgo as she broke the NCAA single-season steals record the biggest play was her team-leading seventh assist.

The 5-6 Hidalgo soared to snare a high-arching inbound pass, coming down between two defenders, and immediately found Prosper all alone at the rim.

After Blakes lost the ball dribbling toward the basket for what would have been a tying shot, the Commodores had to foul three times just to get Notre Dame to the free-throw line.

Prosper missed the first of two free throws to give Vanderbilt a chance. Standout freshman Aubrey Galvan, who was a big reason the Commodores were even in the game late, missed a 3 but got her own rebound and found Blakes. The sophomore, who led the nation in scoring, misfired to complete a 7-of-26 showing for her as Vanderbilt matched its season worst at 35% shooting for the game.