After slow start, No. 9 TCU women ride dominant defense in 63-42 victory over Texas Tech
Looking to bounce back after its conference loss to Kansas State, the TCU Horned Frogs women’s basketball team rebounded from a slow start on offense in their 60-42 victory against Texas Tech on Saturday at Schollmaier Arena.
With eight minutes left in the third quarter, Texas Christian went on a 12-4 run, spearheaded by 3-pointers from Hailey Van Lith and Aaliyah Roberson, who added a layup, to take a double-digit lead heading into the fourth quarter that they would never come close to relinquishing.
Roberson led the Horned Frogs in scoring with a season-high 14 points on a perfect 4 of 4, with four made and attempted free throws, to go alongside three rebounds and an assist.
After the game, she talked about how the team’s camaraderie helped her have a big night.
“We just trust each other I feel like, and me just having the confidence from within, that really helps a lot with not thinking so much of what I need to do,” said Roberson, “We have great teammates who are unselfish. It is very easy to score, especially when they’re having an off night, So just trying to step up and whenever it’s my turn, I like to deliver.”
Head coach Mark Campbell praised the junior from San Antonio.
“I love Aaliyah, you don’t have to run any actions for her, she just makes the right play. Her IQ is elite, and if you know her family, this kid’s growing up around the game at the highest level, and so she just makes winning plays,” said Campbell.
Quiet first half for Hailey Van Lith
Heading into the game, Van Lith was looking to rebound from a tough shooting performance in the team’s loss against Kansas State. She scored 11 points, her second-fewest of the season, on 5-of-14 shooting.
Van Lith’s shooting struggles continued in the first half of Saturday’s game. She shot 0 of 3 from the field and didn’t make her first basket of the game until 4:36 remained in the third quarter.
She finished the game with six points, three rebounds and an assist but despite the low number Campbell said he was happy with his point guard’s performance.
“Obviously they tried to trap Haley in this game, which is what Kansas State did. Haley made great reads, and so we were getting wide-open looks all night,” said Campbell.
Slow start from three-point range
Van Lith and Sedona Prince regularly drew double teams throughout the first half, creating open three-point shots for the Horned Frogs that they were unable to make, shooting 2 of 14 from three-point range in the first half.
“They just weren’t falling, but the great thing about our team,” said sophomore Donovyn Hunter, “we’re getting wide-open shots. We’re not, forcing anything, So just keep shooting. Fortunately, they were actually falling towards the end.”
In the second half, the Horned Frogs’ three-point shots started to fall. The team shot 7 of 18 from three, led by two makes from Van Lith and Madison Connor.
Campbell said that he was happy with his team’s shot selection throughout the game.
“We didn’t shoot great, (but) I would take all those shots again. I want Agnes (1 of 10 from 3) to take those same 10 3s again. But it was defense tonight,” said Campbell.
Defense at the rim
Despite early offensive struggles, TCU’s defense was in top form from the opening tip-off, especially with its defense at the rim.
The Red Raiders missed their first 10 shots at the rim and shot 28.8% from the field, though they did get to the free-throw line on several drives.
TCU’s rim defense was led by Prince, who had a team-leading three blocks for a Horned Frogs team that swatted seven total shots.
Campbell praised the team’s mindset, focus and execution since their loss to Oklahoma State.
“We’ve been challenged, and this group’s responded every time, and so for us to hold the team [to] 6 for 16 for the whole second half, proud, that we’re maturing since the Oklahoma State game. We’re so much more intentional in the second half on both sides of the ball,” said Campbell. “There’s going to be a lot of these games that come down to the wire over this month, and so we got to be tough as nails. We got to defend and we got to take good shots, and tonight we did that.”
TCU next plays BYU at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Schollmaier Arena.
This story was originally published February 8, 2025 at 6:00 PM.
