Three keys as No. 11 TCU women aim for outright Big 12 title
Sunday is set to be another historic day for TCU women’s basketball as the Horned Frogs host rival Baylor in the regular season finale at 3 p.m.
Not only is TCU hosting College GameDay for the first time, the Horned Frogs are also playing to clinch an outright Big 12 regular season championship for the second straight season.
Some of the drama for the game was minimized after TCU grabbed at least a share of the regular season crown in Wednesday’s win over Cincinnati, but it’s still a huge opportunity for the program, as it will have a national spotlight and a chance to extend its winning streak over Baylor to five games.
The Horned Frogs pulled away from Baylor 83-67 in Waco on Feb. 12, which was the start of their five-game winning streak.
Here are keys for TCU to secure the outright Big 12 championship:
Expect a change
TCU guard Olivia Miles torched Baylor for 40 points and 10 3-pointers in the first matchup, as the All-American guard exploited the Bears’ strange defensive strategy. Baylor was determined to make Miles a scorer, according to head coach Nicki Collen, and when Miles was involved in pick-and-roll action, Baylor defenders went underneath the screen and dared Miles to take jumpshots.
From Collen’s standpoint, Miles is at her most dangerous when she’s getting downhill and throwing passes all over to her teammates. She wasn’t wrong about that, but still, when you give a player as talented as Miles easy looks, they’re bound to convert at some point. Miles started slow, hitting just two of her first eight attempts in the first half.
Then she exploded in the third quarter with 23 points and seven 3-pointers as TCU turned a close game into a blowout. Miles should expect Baylor to be more aggressive against the screens and force her into double teams in the paint like the Bears attempted to do in the fourth quarter. Miles has seen every type of defensive coverage and should be ready for any adjustment Baylor makes.
Keep feeding Suarez
Marta Suarez returning to her early season form is another reason the Horned Frogs are playing their best basketball at the right time. In her last seven games Suarez has scored at least 20 points five times including a 32-point performance in the win over Cincinnati. She also had another game where she finished with 19.
In the last matchup with Baylor, it was Suarez that kept TCU in the lead early as Miles struggled to find her rhythm in the first half. Suarez crashed the glass and was a matchup nightmare with her shot fake that created driving lanes for her to finish at the rim. She scored 27 points, grabbed six rebounds and added four assists in one of her most complete performances of the year.
Another outing like that will go a long way to allowing TCU to defeat Baylor again.
Stopping Scott
Baylor doesn’t have the same offensive threats as years past, but the Bears still have Taliah Scott on the roster. Scott has been one of the top scorers in the country and is currently averaging 20.3 points per game. Only one other Baylor player averages double digits.
Scott has scored at least 20 points in four of her last five games including dropping 22 against the Horned Frogs. Scott is capable of scoring in a variety of ways as she’s knocking down 36% of her 3-point attempts and shooting nearly 50% inside the arc. The Horned Frogs will have options with slowing her down, with both Donovyn Hunter and Taylor Bigby being defensive stoppers.
The biggest X-factors in slowing down Scott may be TCU’s two 6-foot-7 centers Clara Silva and Kennedy Basham. Silva is averaging 1.7 blocks this season While Basham has blocked four shots in three straight games. They’re the type of rim protector that can deter Scott when she gets into the lane. It’ll take a team effort to slow Scott down, but if the Horned Frogs are successful they’ll be outright Big 12 champions.
This story was originally published February 27, 2026 at 1:34 PM.
