Women’s Basketball: TCU advances to Sweet Sixteen with 85-70 win over Louisville

Hailey Van Lith delivers double-double vs. her former team to lead Horned Frogs

In front of a record crowd in Schollmaier Arena on Sunday, TCU Women’s Basketball made history yet again, becoming the first Horned Frogs team to reach the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament with an 85-70 Second Round victory over 7-seed Louisville Cardinals.

The Horned Frogs’ starting five scored all 85 of TCU’s points while playing all but six total minutes of the contest. Agnes Emma-Nnopu led the Horned Frogs with a season-high 23 points, Donovyn Hunter was a perfect 6-6 from the field, including four made three-pointers, setting a career-high with 18 points, Sedona Prince had a 19-4-3 stat line with three blocks, and Madison Conner splashed three triples. Among all those standouts, it was Hailey Van Lith delivering a 40 minute master class vs. her former team with a 16 point, 10 rebound double-double, breaking through a Cardinals defense whose gameplan was to double team and attack Van Lith at every turn.

Taking on the program she led for three seasons, the Big 12 Player of the Year opened the game with some bumpy moments, giving away two turnovers on TCU’s two opening possessions. The first quarter was an evenly played affair as the Frogs could only create a three point lead despite shooting 62% from the field and knocking down four from beyond the arc with every starter scoring. Louisville was able to keep pace thanks to a rebound advantage leading to 8 second chance points and the dazzling scoring of star guard Jayda Curry who delivered 15 first quarter points, part of a 41-point game as she put the Cardinals on her back. Louisville forgot about Agnes Emma-Nnopu in the first quarter and she punished them with a pair of triples to lead the Frogs through the first period.

The second quarter was one of the most dominant periods of basketball ever displayed by a Horned Frogs squad. Opening with back-to-back Hunter threes assisted by Van Lith, TCU broke the game open in a huge way. TCU would outscore UL 27-9 during the quarter, ballooning a lead that would sustain the rest of the way. The Frogs shot just under 80% during the period including 5-7 from three-point range. The Frogs’ defending was elite for the quarter despite again allowing a high volume of offensive rebounds, blocking 2 shots, taking 2 steals, and holding the Cards under 16% shooting from the field as Jayda Curry missed all four of her shot attempts. Emma-Nnopu continued to flourish with a perfect 4-4 quarter for 10 points and Louisville had no answer for the many ways the Frogs can find offense as TCU went into halftime with a three touchdown lead.

The challenge then became maintaining that lead and avoiding a monumental comeback effort. Jayda Curry found her stroke again in the second half and caught fire to try and will the Cardinals back into the game. Part of Louisville’s comeback strategy was to eliminate the buckets at the rim and extend the game by sending the Frogs to the free throw line. However, TCU answered that call by going 13-15 at the charity stripe, drawing 10 fouls in the quarter. Despite only getting nine points from the field, the 22 total points in the quarter allowed TCU to keep pace and maintain the healthy lead as Louisville began to heat up.

The TCU starters played all 10 minutes of the third and the fatigued legs began to show in the 4th quarter. As has often been the case in the biggest games this season, TCU begins to show some cracks in the fourth quarter, allowing furious comebacks after holding major leads. Louisville was able to get the game into single digits just a few minutes into the quarter, narrowing the margin to 8 points with three minutes to play. TCU simply kept answering the bell to squash each Louisville run: elite ball movement to break the trap and find a wide open Emma-Nnopu under the basket, Sedona Prince with powerful post moves to the rim, Van Lith with the pull up midrange jumper, and eventually Donovyn Hunter with the dagger three-pointer to put TCU up 13 and put the game on ice. The celebration was on in Schollmaier Arena, head coach Mark Campbell and the Horned Frogs had done it, TCU Basketball was dancing into the Sweet Sixteen for the first time.

TCU will next travel to the Birmingham, Alabama Regional to face 3-seed Notre Dame on Saturday March 29. The Horned Frogs defeated the Fighting Irish 76-68 in Grand Cayman back in November.