This year has been historic for women’s college basketball, as national network viewership has increased by 60% and Caitlin Clark has become a household name

We’ve now spoken with a few other elite players who are primed for a deep run in the NCAA tournament as March Madness approaches.Here’s what they told us, along with some things to watch out for this competition.

What’s it like to have your dad be your basketball coach all through middle school and high school?

For Hannah Hidalgo, this was a good thing – even if he didn’t take it easy on her.

“I think my dad was the hardest on me for sure, because he knew what I could accomplish,” she said. “And he … kind of saw greatness in me.”

Today, Hidalgo is the top player for second-seeded Notre Dame.

The 5-foot-6-inch guard is the Division I basketball’s third-leading scorer this season, and leads all players in steals — as a freshman

One of her inspirations is Aari McDonald, who now plays in the WNBA.

“[McDonald] was a really small guard on the women’s side,” Hidalgo said. “Seeing how small she was and how she was able to score over girls that were like six-four, six-five, and just her ability to finish and get kind of leader at team, it was just like phenomenal.”

Hidalgo has never let her height keep her down. In high school, she was the New Jersey player of the year, and led U.S. junior national teams to two FIBA World Cup gold medals.

With all the extra eyes on her now, she says her faith in God keeps her grounded amid criticism or praise in sports media. And for pre-game pump-up music, she opts for gospel.

“We’re always listening to gospel music,” she said. “[It] gets our mind focused. And then of course after gospel, I’ll call my parents and we pray together before every single game.”

Hidalgo says she remembers people looking down on women’s basketball when she was younger. So she’s happy to be seeing women finally getting mainstream recognition and also endorsement deals.

“So I kind of see how now we’re able to make money off of our name and how many millions of people [are] watching this,” she said. “Seeing these younger kids who are coming up now … it makes you really excited to see kind of what’s for the future