No. 13 TCU women faced another test after first loss of season. Did they pass?
No. 13 TCU women’s basketball rebounded from its first loss of the season with a gritty 69-61 win against Oklahoma State on Wednesday night at Schollmaier Arena.
The win also avenges last year’s defeat to Oklahoma State when the Cowgirls upset TCU 60-59 on Jan. 22, 2025.
“That was a great, hard-fought Big 12 basketball game,” head coach Mark Campbell said. “Two really good teams, they’ve got a great ballclub. I am so proud of our defense tonight, that’s a team that can really drive and kick. They have the ability to shoot a lot of 3s. Our last game against Utah, that’s what tripped us up on the road.
“[Oklahoma State] ended up going 4-of-22 from 3. That’s hard to do against this team.”
It was a low-scoring, physical battle just like the game in Stillwater last year, but this time the Horned Frogs (15-1, 3-1) ended up on the winning side behind Olivia Miles, who led TCU with 20 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Clara Silva added 12 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.
Despite leading most of the game, the Cowgirls briefly had the Horned Frogs on their heels as a three-point play by Stailee Heard gave Oklahoma State (13-4, 2-2) its first lead of the game, 51-50, with 6:59 remaining.
It started to feel a lot like Saturday’s loss to Utah, when TCU couldn’t seal the deal as the Utes forced to overtime to upset the Horned Frogs.
However, TCU learned from the experience in Salt Lake City to buckle down and battle back to retake control of the game against OSU. The Horned Frogs responded with a 7-0 run to put Oklahoma State in a bind at 57-51 with 5:18 remaining.
“We were 14-0 and rolling through the season. As you do that, things get a little loose,” Campbell said. “That Utah game was a great reminder of how hard it is in the Big 12, how difficult it is to win on the road in this league. Our team was so intentional and so locked in on the scout all week.”
Silva, a sophomore center, played a pivotal role during the run as she battled through contact for a bucket inside and then blocked a 3-pointer on the next defensive possession. Her defensive effort led to a transition 3-pointer for Maddie Scherr that electrified the home crowd.
Oklahoma State stopped the run with a 3-pointer from Haleigh Timmer.
But TCU upped its execution down the stretch, creating wide-open looks on offense to maintain the lead. Silva scored an important bucket off a pick-and-roll with Donovyn Hunter and then Silva hit Miles on a backdoor cut for a layup to increase TCU’s lead to 63-56 with just 2:44 remaining.
Leading 63-57 with 1:32 remaining, TCU just needed one more bucket to deliver the dagger after forcing a traveling violation by Oklahoma State.
Miles helped deliver the blow as she made a nice bounce pass to a cutting Marta Suarez, who was fouled on the shot. She then knocked down two free throws to ice the game with 1:04 remaining.
“We knew what we had to do, just play harder,” Miles said. “I’m kind of glad we got punched in the face and got a little reality check. We got better. [Campbell] challenged us, and we got right back to what we knew would work. I’m just proud of this team. We’re resilient, we’re old, we’re mature, and we use that to our advantage. I’m just proud of the way we responded.”
The Horned Frogs will face Arizona State at 4 p.m. Sunday in Fort Worth.
This story was originally published January 7, 2026 at 8:28 PM.
