No. 9 TCU women’s basketball overcomes Prince foul trouble to beat Iowa State on the road
Despite star center Sedona Prince fouling out with zero points, No. 9 TCU picked up a solid 82-69 win over Iowa State in Ames on Sunday.
The Horned Frogs started the game strong with a 24-15 lead after the first quarter. Taylor Bigby keyed the strong start with 10 first quarter points including two 3-pointers.
But TCU was unable to extend the lead in the second quarter with Sedona Prince dealing with foul trouble as she was matched up against Iowa State’s Audi Crooks.
With Prince having to play less aggressive defense, Crooks helped the Cyclones battle back as she scored 15 points on 14 shots in the first half to cut TCU’s lead to just 37-36 at halftime.
The Horned Frogs’ guards stepped up in the third quarter as Bigby, Madison Conner and Hailey Van Lith scored TCU’s first 12 points after halftime to help the Horned Frogs take a 49-44 lead.
From there it became a battle of styles with TCU relying on its guard play and Iowa State leaning on Crooks and fellow big Addy Brown. Brown and Crooks finished with 31 and 29 points, respectively.
The two continued to put pressure on TCU in the paint and Prince picked up her third and fourth foul in the third quarter with TCU maintaining 57-48 lead.
Prince’s final foul came with 6:30 left in the game and TCU only ahead 67-61. TCU would have to overcome its recent fourth quarter offensive struggles without one of its best players and with the game in the balance, TCU inserted Deasia Merrill into the game and Merrill held her own against Iowa State’s prolific frontcourt duo.
Merrill scored four of her six points in the second half and added seven rebounds. With her holding down the middle, Van Lith carried TCU to the finish line with 16 points in the second half. Van Lith finished with a team-high 28 points as TCU outscored Iowa State 20-16 in the fourth quarter.
By handling their business, the Horned Frogs added a Quad 1 win to their NCAA Tournament resume and also set the stage for what could be a top-10 showdown with No. 11 Kansas State on Wednesday. The Wildcats defeated Kansas 91-64 on Sunday and both teams will enter with identical 21-2 records overall and a 9-1 record in Big 12 play.
This story was originally published February 2, 2025 at 4:53 PM.
