Horned Frogs advance to the Big 12 women’s basketball title game
The Horned Frogs showed they can handle physicality in an impressive 71-65 win over No. 16 West Virginia in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals Saturday.
It was the second victory over the Mountaineers this season and the Horned Frogs will face Baylor in the title game on Sunday at 4 p.m. (ESPN). It’s the first appearance in the Big 12 title game in program history.
“That was an awesome college basketball game and two really good teams,” head coach Mark Campbell said. “I told our team it felt like a Sweet Sixteen matchup on a neutral court. West Virginia, I’m glad we don’t play them again and we get to root for them now when March Madness rolls around.”
The biggest question mark facing TCU entering the postseason was how would the Horned Frogs deal with the physicality from teams that could match their talent.
Led by Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year JJ Quinerly, The Mountaineers had the type of personnel that has given TCU trouble at times this season
West Virginia tried to push TCU around and also speed the Horned Frogs up with a full court press.
While the game was close early, the Horned Frogs began to pull away in the second quarter as Big 12 Player of the Year Hailey Van Lith and Sedona Prince rose to match the physicality of the Mountaineers.
In the second TCU turned the tables on West Virginia with its own relentless defense, holding the Mountaineers to 33% and four turnovers in the period. West Virginia went nearly five minutes without a point as the Horned Frogs began to take control of the game.
It was the type of performance Van Lith wanted to see when she challenged the team to be more physical after the Horned Frogs’ defeat at Kansas State on Feb. 5.
“We’ve grown so much in that area and I’m grateful for those opportunities that showed us that we needed to get better,” Van Lith said. “All the teams that have pressed us and pressured us, it gave us practice because in this moment we needed it and were able to deliver.”
During the Mountaineers’ drought, TCU turned a 23-19 lead into a 34-19 advantage as Agnes Emma-Nnopu and Madison Conner hit back-to-back 3s during the run.
The return of Emma-Nnopu was catalyst for TCU on the defensive end after the veteran forward missed the Horned Frogs’ win over Colorado Friday.
Despite leading by as many as 15 in the third quarter, the Horned Frogs saw their lead cut to 52-47 entering the final quarter after a buzzer beating 3 from near half court by Jordan Harrison.
TCU didn’t panic and answered with a run of its own in the opening minutes of fourth as TCU’s big three of Van Lith, Prince and Madison Conner scored all of the points during a 10-3 run that built the Horned Frogs’ lead back to 62-50 with 6:54 remaining.
The Mountaineers made one last run with less than four minutes remaining as West Virginia cut the lead to 62-57 with 3:38 remaining. However, Van Lith and Conner came up with the sequence of the game as Van Lith grabbed a rebound and kicked it out to Conner for a huge 3-pointer that made it 65-57.
“West Virginia deserves a lot of credit, in the third quarter they came out of halftime and put us on our heels,” Campbell said. “But these guys bounced back in the fourth which is what they’ve done all year.”
Conner had missed two 3s on the same possession, but her confidence never wavered and neither did Van Lith’s in her teammate. That 3 ended up creating enough cushion for TCU to survive the late rally.
“How much confidence do I have in her? I don’t care if she’s at half court, if nobody is guarding her, shoot it Madison,” Van Lith said.
Van Lith led TCU with 19 while Prince added 18 points, 16 rebounds and two blocks. Conner scored 16 points and knocked down five 3s for the Horned Frogs.
Each played vital roles, especially Van Lith who guarded Quinerly down the stretch and set the tone with her own physical play. She showcased her strength overcoming contact at the rim and also showed toughness when Harrison knocked a contact out of her eye in the fourth quarter.
Van Lith also grabbed six rebounds and dished out eight assists in one of her most complete performances of the season.
This story was originally published March 8, 2025 at 4:58 PM.
