Women’s Basketball: 2-seed TCU outruns FDU in First Round of NCAA Tournament

Horned Frogs advance to Second Round for first time since 2006

Hosting NCAA Tournament games for the first time in program history, 2-seed TCU Horned Frogs struggled out of the gate before eventually running away from 15-seed Fairleigh Dickinson Knights for a 73-51 victory in Schollmaier Arena. The win advances the Frogs to the Second Round of the Big Dance for the first time since 2006. Madison Conner led all scorers with 23 points on 53% shooting including four made three-pointers; her 10-point second quarter gave the Frogs an advantage it would not relinquish. Sedona Prince added a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, joined in double-digit scoring by Hailey Van Lith (13 points) and Agnes Emma-Nnopu (10 points)

With a long lay off since the Big 12 Tournament Championship back on March 9, TCU opened the game a bit sluggish as starters Donovyn Hunter & Sedona Prince each picked up two early fouls and were forced into reduced minutes. TCU shot below 36% for the opening 10 minutes and gave away four turnovers while allowing the Knights to shoot 50% from the field as FDU center Teneisia Brown handled the hostile environment with eight points on 4-5 shooting. In its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance, FDU was ready to shock the world and finished the first quarter with a 17-14 advantage over the heavily-favored home squad.

The Horned Frogs began to shake off the rust in the second quarter as Madison Conner caught fire with a pair of long balls as part of her ten-point quarter as the TCU offense broke the game open with 21 points. Hunter and Prince were each 2-2 from the field in the period and TCU got its playmaking distribution working, assisting on six of its eight made baskets in the quarter, including three dimes from Van Lith, breaking the TCU single-season assist record. TCU’s defense held the Knights to just 10 points in the quarter to give the Frogs a 35-27 advantage at the halftime break.

TCU continued to assert its dominance on both ends of the court in the second half, led by Sedona Prince blocking three shots, grabbing seven boards, and scoring 10 points after the break while avoiding any additional fouls. The Knights were held without a second half made three-point attempt and shot just 31% from the field, as Teneisia Brown could muster just eight second half points on 14 shot attempts.

The win marks the 13th NCAA Tournament victory in program history; TCU guard Hailey Van Lith logged her 14th career NCAA Tournament win. In the Second Round HVL will be playing against a Louisville Cardinals squad where she starred for three seasons after the 7-seed defeated 10-seed Nebraska 63-58 on Friday evening in Fort Worth. The Round of 32 contest between the Horned Frogs & Cardinals will take place on Sunday March 23, at a time and broadcast network to be determined. For TCU, a win on Sunday would mark the program’s first trip to the Sweet 16, advancing into the Birmingham Regional to play the winner of 6-seed Michigan and 3-seed Notre Dame.