Women's NCAA Roundup: No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 6 Michigan advance

Field Level Media|published: Fri 21st March, 16:37 2025

Notre Dame forward Kate Koval (13) goes after a loose ball during the first round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament between Notre Dame and Stephen F. Austin at Purcell Pavilion on Friday, March 21, 2025, in South Bend.

Hannah Hidalgo and Sonia Citron scored 24 points apiece as Notre Dame, the third seed in the Birmingham 3 bracket of the NCAA Women's Championship, easily dispatched No. 14 Stephen F. Austin 106-54 on Friday afternoon in South Bend, Indiana.

The Fighting Irish (27-5) advance to face No. 6 Michigan in the Round of 32 on Sunday in South Bend, with tipoff time to be determined.

Lisa Karlen added 13 points for Notre Dame, with Maddy Westbeld scoring 12 and Liatu King hitting for 10 points. The Fighting Irish outshot Stephen F. Austin 56.3 percent to 32.8 percent from the floor, forced 28 turnovers that they converted into 38 points and forged a 44-30 rebounding edge in the easy win.

Notre Dame shrugged off a slow start to tie the game at 8-8 on Hidalgo's layup at the 6:43 mark of the opening quarter. The Fighting Irish eventually led 26-13 after one period, by 46-25 at the break and had a 37-point advantage heading into the fourth.

Trinity Moore's 14 points led Stephen F. Austin (29-6), the Southland Conference champion, in the loss. Avery VanSickle and Ashlyn Traylor-Walker finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

No. 6 Michigan 80, No. 11 Iowa State 75

Michigan got past Iowa State behind 28 points from Jordan Hobbs and 16 from Olivia Olson. Hobbs canned five 3-pointers in the victory and nine of Olson's points came in the fourth quarter, including a jumper with 20 seconds remaining that pushed the Wolverines' lead to five points.

Michigan trailed by five points at halftime and by three heading to the final period before an Olson three-point play to begin the quarter tied the game at 56-56. The Wolverines never trailed again as Greta Kampschroeder added 13 points, Mila Holloway scored 12 and Syla Swords hit for 11 points. All of Michigan's points were scored by its starting five.

Audi Crooks led Iowa State (23-12) with 28 points while Arianna Jackson added 12 for the Cyclones, who beat Princeton in a First Four game on Wednesday to earn a spot in the 64-team Tournament field.

--Field Level Media

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