NCAA Tournament win more important for Notre Dame than quadruple-double
· Yahoo Sports
Wins are the only thing that matter this time of year. If you want to chase an individual record, you do it in the regular season.
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Which is why it was absolutely the right call for Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey to sit Hannah Hidalgo for the last five minutes of a 79-60 blowout of Fairfield on Saturday, March 21, in the NCAA Tournament. Even with Hidalgo chasing a quadruple-double.
If Notre Dame is going to do anything in this tournament, it's going to need its force-of-nature point guard to be at her best in every single game. The Irish cannot afford her to have heavy legs or rubber arms or anything else that would be a byproduct of Hidalgo being fatigued.
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Hidalgo said she didn't even know she was closing in on a quadruple-double. Even if she had, she agreed with Ivey's decision.
This was a first-round game. With Notre Dame sitting on a big lead, this was an opportunity to get Hidalgo and the other starters extra recovery time ahead of a tough game against Ohio State on Monday, March 23.
"I’ve got to rest up. Got another one on Monday," Hidalgo told ESPN.
Getting a quadruple-double would have been historic for Hidalgo. According to the NCAA record books, it's never been done in either the women's or the men's tournaments. Even getting a triple-double in the tournament is a rarity.
As it was, Hidalgo set the Notre Dame record for most steals in an NCAA Tournament game with eight. She also had 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
But keeping her in the game to chase an individual stat would have sent the wrong message about what's most important to Notre Dame right now. Winning? Or Hidalgo being the answer to a trivia question?
"Right now, it’s all about winning," Hidalgo said.
There's no guarantee Hidalgo would have gotten the record if Ivey had kept her on the floor, anyway.
When Hidalgo left the game with 5:02 to play, she needed a rebound, two steals and four assists. The rebound and steals were probably gettable — Hidalgo had two steals on the same possession in the first quarter — but finding four assists would have required Notre Dame to set her up every time the Irish had the ball.
It was doable, sure. But it wasn't the right thing to do.
Not under these circumstances.
"I'm really proud of where we are right now. I'm proud of the way that we're playing," Ivey said. "I think every time we step on the floor, we're getting better and better."
With almost an entirely new roster, this was Notre Dame's worst season in five years, only the third time in the last 19 years the Irish have had double-digit losses. Continued improvement has to be the priority, especially when the coach of their next opponent knows Ivey and her team as well as he knows his own.
Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff was a Notre Dame assistant the entire time Ivey played there, and the two remain close so close that Ivey is godmother to one of his daughters. McGuff's wife Letitia, also a former Notre Dame player, was director of basketball operations when Ivey played and is still one of her best friends.
"He's family," Ivey said. "I hate that this was the road, obviously, but he's somebody that I love. I love their whole family and it's going to be exciting to play them on Monday."
Anyone who's a hoops fan should be drooling over the matchup between sixth-seeded Notre Dame and third-seeded Ohio State because it features two of the best point guards in the game.
Hidalgo is, well, Hidalgo, a whirling dervish who can pick your pocket, break your ankles and light up the scoreboard. Jaloni Cambridge is a speedster who puts the gas in Ohio State's high-octane motor. She can just as easily hurt you on the boards as she can make her teammates look good.
"It's awesome. You want to see great basketball. You want to see great players compete at the highest level," Ivey said. "I think we (will) have two of the best players on the floor Monday."
That means Hidalgo will have to be at her best, not feeling sluggish or nursing a knock from the closing minutes of the Fairfield game.
Hidalgo is only a junior. There'll be plenty of chances to hunt quadruple-doubles and other individual achievements next season.
Right now, winning is the only thing that matters.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Getting win more important for Notre Dame than Hannah Hidalgo record