Frogs fall short: TCU women’s run ends in Elite Eight — three takeaways
For the second straight year, the TCU women’s basketball season ended one game away from the Final Four, as the Horned Frogs fell 78-52 to South Carolina in the Elite Eight on Monday.
“I’m so proud of this team and this group,” TCU coach Mark Campbell said. “They took our program and our university on just another magical, special season. This one game will not define our season.
“I could not be more proud, sitting up here with these guys. But man, it’s always hard when the journey ends.”
After losing to the Gamecocks 85-52 last season at Dickies Arena, No. 3 seed TCU (32-6) was much more competitive in the rematch with top-seeded South Carolina (35-3).
The Horned Frogs trailed only 49-41 entering the final quarter, but that’s when the Gamecocks showed their championship pedigree, as South Carolina went on a 12-0 run to take a 61-41 lead with 6:48 remaining.
TCU didn’t score its first points in the fourth until the 5:55 mark, and by then it was far too late.
South Carolina advances to its sixth straight Final Four and will face fellow No. 1 seed UConn (38-0) in the national semifinals at 6 p.m. Friday in Phoenix. No. 1 seeds UCLA (35-1) and Texas (35-3) will follow at 8:30.
Here are three more takeaways from TCU’s final game of the season:
Point guard battle
There were a number of high-level individual battles in TCU’s clash with South Carolina, and none was bigger than guard Olivia Miles’ matchup with South Carolina’s Raven Johnson. It was a matchup of the Big 12 Player of the Year vs. the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, and Miles had the advantage in the first half.
Miles scored 11 in the first half, including hitting two 3s while being guarded by the All-American defender. Johnson responded in the second by matching Miles’ production with back-to-back 3s to put the Gamecocks ahead 33-26.
Miles did her best to keep TCU in the game in the second half, hitting 3s and setting up her teammates with creative passing while Johnson went scoreless in the third quarter. Miles ultimately won her matchup, as she finished her TCU career with 18 points and six assists, but the star guard’s performance wasn’t enough to lead TCU to the upset.
Johnson finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and six assists and was also voted Most Outstanding Player of the Sacramento 4 Regional.
Miles praised the defensive effort of South Carolina.
“I knew it was gonna be physical. They’re very long,” Miles said. “They had multiple defenders on me, Raven started on me, and then [Agot] Makeer played a lot on me for the rest of the game. I understand the territory, and obviously both teams are competitive and want to win. I expected a physical and tough matchup.”
The war down low
To beat South Carolina it’s imperative to hold your own against their deep and tall frontcourt. TCU added size in the offseason to be better prepared for the matchup with 6-foot-3 forward Marta Suarez and 6-7 center Clara Silva. The Horned Frogs’ increased size helped them hang in the game early, but South Carolina coach Dawn Staley made a key adjustment by going small with the 6-3 Joyce Edwards at center in place of 6-6 Madina Okot.
TCU only trailed 22-21 when Okot was subbed out at the 6:02 mark in the first half, but the Gamecocks ended the half outscoring the Horned Frogs 13-6, with Edwards knocking down multiple jump shots from the midrange. What made matters worse was Suarez injured her leg with less than two minutes remaining in the first half and limped off the court.
Suarez was able to start in the second half, but didn’t have her same effectiveness, as she missed her first six shots in the half. Meanwhile, Edwards continued to lead the attack inside as the Gamecocks outrebounded TCU 52-24 and outscored the Horned Frogs 21-6 in second-chance points.
“This group fought for 40 minutes and I think the biggest — 22 offensive rebounds — against a team like them, you can’t give them that many second-chance points,” Campbell said. “I think that’s the biggest takeaway from not being able to be in the fight headed down the home stretch of the game.”
Edwards led South Carolina with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Suarez finished with nine points and five rebounds, but shot only 4-of-17 from the field.
The difference-maker
The freshman Makeer had played her best basketball in the NCAA Tournament with three straight double-digit scoring games entering Monday. The 6-1 guard continued her hot streak with 18 more points against the Horned Frogs, and that production ended up being the difference.
Her contribution was essential due to how well TCU guarded South Carolina’s other guards, Ta’Niya Latson and Tessa Johnson. They combine to average over 27 points on a nightly basis, but had a combined three points entering the final quarter Monday.
It didn’t matter because of Makeer, whose shotmaking in the midrange and quality defense on Miles helped South Carolina stave off multiple runs by the Horned Frogs. Meanwhile, TCU’s supporting case struggled to provide complementary scoring to Miles with Suarez struggling from the field.
Senior guard Taylor Bigby had some good moments with 10 points, but TCU needed much more from its role players.
This story was originally published March 30, 2026 at 10:17 PM.
