Women’s Basketball: Van Lith dazzles in debut as TCU downs Houston Christian 78-41

Horned Frogs overcome poor shooting night with swarming defense and star turns from Hailey Van Lith & Sedona Prince

The TCU Horned Frogs opened the 2024-25 campaign with a resounding victory over Houston Christian on Tuesday night in Schollmaier Arena, running away for a 78-41 final score. TCU leaned on its star power and a swarming defense to take control of the game after a sputtering start in the first quarter. Sedona Prince powered the Frogs, putting on a clinic in the paint on both ends of the court, scoring 29 points, grabbing seven boards, and swatting six shots. Following a bronze medal-winning performance in the 2024 Olympics, TCU guard Hailey Van Lith introduced herself to Horned Frog fans with an impressive debut performance, filling the stat sheet with 21 points, five rebounds, seven assists, and six steals.

The Frogs were forced to find alternate ways to generate offense; after being one of the nation’s top three-point shooting squads last season, TCU was ice cold from behind the arc in the season opener. In the first quarter, TCU shot just 23% from the field, missing six shots from long range. TCU star center Sedona Prince carried the team through that opening frame, scoring the Frogs’ first seven points of the game as TCU held a narrow 10-6 lead at the break.

In the second quarter the Horned Frogs defense took over the game. Deploying a full court press, TCU made life miserable for the Huskies, forcing 5-second inbounds turnovers, 10-second backcourt turnovers, and an abundance of steals and blocks to ultimately create ten total turnovers in the period – equal to the number of HCU 2nd quarter shot attempts. This delivered a 17-1 run to open the quarter While the Huskies were able to score 13 points during the quarter, TCU doubled that to create a 17-point cushion going into halftime.

The Horned Frogs further extended the lead throughout the second half, showing no mercy defensively and shooting 50% from the field. There were moments where HCU was flirting with having more turnovers than points scored, eventually finishing with 36 total turnovers that the Frogs would turn into 38 points going the other way.

TCU’s deep bench was on display as eight players saw at least 12 minutes of time on court, with 10 Frogs scoring, including guard Ella Hamlin who joined the team during last season’s open tryouts when the season was in jeopardy as the squad was ravaged with injuries, creating a special moment in Schollmaier

The Horned Frogs continued its unbeaten streak in non-conference regular season games during the Mark Campbell era, winning a 14th straight. Next up, TCU will look to keep that streak rolling vs. New Orleans in Schollmaier Arena on Sunday afternoon, and broadcast on ESPN+.