Hannah Hidalgo calls Mikayla Blakes 'Caitlin-type of level' scorer - ESPN

FORT WORTH, Texas — Nobody needs to tell Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo that Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes leads the nation in scoring. She has her own thoughts on how hard Blakes is to defend.

Ahead of their matchup Friday in the Fort Worth 1 Regional semifinal, Hidalgo referenced Caitlin Clark when asked what makes Blakes so effective as a scorer.

«The way she's able to put the ball in the hoop, it's like Caitlin-type of level,» Hidalgo said Thursday during a news conference previewing the game. «She can score on all three levels, whether that's getting all the way to the basket, her midrange, or her three. Of course, that's always tough to guard.»

Blakes averages 27 points per game en route to SEC Player of the Year honors. Hidalgo is a terrific scorer in her own right, ranking No. 3 in the nation (25.2 PPG), can do it all for Notre Dame, leading the nation in steals and winning ACC Player and Defensive Player of the Year.

«She's really good, and I feel like one thing about the both of us is we never get denied the ball,» Blakes said. «We're always finding a way to the ball.»

Their star power essentially powers this matchup, and there is plenty of familiarity between the two.

They played together on Team USA last year at the FIBA AmeriCup and competed against each other in high school. Hidalgo recalled their high school matchup in New Jersey — Hidalgo's team won — saying, «It was a show. Two dynamic guards. I had to guard her the whole game. I think just her ability to do what she does, you know, the things that she brings to her team is so different.»

This will be their first meeting in college. The two of them tried to downplay the matchup, despite getting repeated questions about the other.

«It's not about me