How TCU women’s basketball beat Baylor to win the Big 12 tournament championship
Conference Player of the Year Hailey Van Lith’s clutch basket late lifted TCU to the program’s first Big 12 women’s basketball tournament championship in a 64-59 win over Baylor in Kansas City on Sunday.
A week after capturing the program’s first regular season title by defeating Baylor in Waco on March 2, the Horned Frogs completed a 3-0 season sweep of the rival Bears.
“That game was everything you hoped for a Big 12 championship,” TCU head coach Mark Campbell said. “It came down to the last possession literally. It’s hard to beat a team three times, we hadn’t beaten them in 35 years and now we’ve beaten them three times this year. I’m just so proud of this group and everything they’ve accomplished.”
Like the first two matchups, TCU led most of the way as the Horned Frogs hounded Baylor on defense. The Bears’ top-25 scoring offense was held to just 26% in the first half as TCU jumped out to a 30-19 halftime lead.
The Horned Frogs could’ve been up more, but Baylor’s pressure defense forced 15 Horned Frogs turnovers in the first half, well above TCU’s season average of 11.7.
The Bears also kept Van Lith in check with just four points in the half as they trapped Van Lith every time she tried to initiate a pick and roll. That opened up opportunities for Donovyn Hunter, who knocked down two 3s and scored eight points in the half to pick up the scoring load.
Baylor changed its defensive strategy in the third quarter attempting to go to a matchup zone. But that was exactly what Van Lith needed to get going as she scored 12 points in the third quarter.
The Horned Frogs maintained control until a frantic fourth quarter Baylor comeback. Despite leading 57-49 with 6:02 remaining in the fourth quarter, TCU only led 59-57 with under 60 seconds remaining.
TCU’s high-powered offense went over three minutes without a field goal during the run as Baylor center Aaronette Vonleh and guard Sara Andrews led the comeback with 14 of Baylor’s 16 points in the quarter.
Vonleh in particular went right at Sedona Prince to score eight points in the quarter. Prince had the length advantage, but Vonleh used her size to get around that.
Prince responded with a bucket inside that made it 59-57 with 3:16 remaining and it also snapped the scoring drought. Led by Prince in the middle, TCU locked down on defense and held Baylor without a point for nearly three minutes.
That’s when Van Lith stepped up as she slashed to the lane going to her left and made a layup with 48 seconds remaining. Even after Van Lith’s bucket, TCU had to survive a last second shot from Baylor after Madison Conner split two free throw attempts with under 10 seconds remaining
Leading 62-59, the Horned Frogs got exactly what they wanted on defense as they forced Vonleh to attempt the game-tying 3-pointer which fell short. Agnes Emma-Nnopu hit the game clinching free throws with two seconds remaining to secure the tournament championship.
Van Lith finished with 20 points while Sedona Prince had 12 points and 14 rebounds. Prince was also voted the All-Tournament team.
Van Lith was voted Most Outstanding Player in the tournament after a terrific second-half performance where she scored 16 points. Van Lith used Baylor’s aggressive defense to her advantage as she got to the free throw line eight times as the Bears tried to guard her physically to no avail.
For Van Lith it was her first conference tournament title in a storied college career and a surreal feeling came over as she reflected on how far she’s come since transferring to Fort Worth from LSU.
“It means everything, it’s more evidence of how perfect God’s timing has been in my life,” Van Lith said. “As humans we always question why things are happening to us and why are we going through things. If I hadn’t had the experience I had in the past, I would not be able realize this blessing I have in front of me with TCU to its fullest potential.
“I wouldn’t have been the person that was able to capitalize off this an opportunity has been for me. It’s God’s timing man.”
Emma-Nnopu was another Horned Frog that came up clutch as she made a number of key plays in the final two minutes. Emma-Nnopu stole extra possessions for TCU when she grabbed an offensive rebound on a missed shot and then a few seconds later she ripped away the ball from Vonleh to help TCU run off more time on the clock.
Emma-Nnopu also came up with the stop of the game when she blocked a shot by Jada Walker. Emma-Nnopu finished with six points and five rebounds, but the stat sheet doesn’t paint the full picture of her impact.
“These guys are just winners, they find ways to impact the game,” Campbell said. “That’s Agnes, she’s the backbone, the warrior and she just finds ways to impact winning.”
Now the Horned Frogs will await to see what seed they earn in the NCAA Tournament, which will be the program’s first appearance since 2009-10. The NCAA pairings will be announced on Sunday. March 16. The first two-round games are expected to be played on the TCU campus.
This story was originally published March 9, 2025 at 6:22 PM.
