Former Big 12 foes TCU, Texas ready for Elite Eight showdown
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A little over a year ago, coach Mark Campbell's TCU women had to forfeit a pair of games and hold open tryouts on campus because they didn’t have enough healthy players.
The Horned Frogs added four walk-ons. They had an awful stretch in which they lost 11 of 12 games. Two of those losses were to Vic Schaefer’s Texas Longhorns, who TCU will meet Monday in the Elite Eight of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
Building his program from what he’s described as “Under Frogs” to a team competing for a chance in the Final Four wasn’t always fun, Campbell said, but when he looks back, it was those early trials that got TCU this far.
“I think last year laid a foundation of toughness and resilience and fight for our program,” Campbell said, “that’s carried over now that we added the talent level that we have to the foundation from last year. That combination is why we’re 34-3, we’re in the Elite Eight.”
Neither game was particularly close the last time TCU faced its former Big 12 foe.
Texas forward Madison Booker, then a freshman, had 21 points when the Longhorns beat TCU 72-60 at home in January 2024, two games before TCU had to forfeit matchups against Kansas State and Iowa State. Texas blew out the Horned Frogs 65-43 on TCU's home court a month later.
Since then, TCU added Hailey Van Lith, the standout point guard who has led the program to its best season ever. She scored 26 against Notre Dame in the Sweet 16 to send TCU to its first Elite Eight.
Now her eye is on getting her team to Tampa, Florida, the site of the women's Final Four.
“We have a huge game to win,” Van Lith said. “Super excited to get to compete on that stage against two Texas schools. ... You definitely know what you’re fighting for, and I feel something in my heart for these girls. Like I said last game, I’m going to go out there and play as hard as I can. I’m going to give everything I have. If I have to dive on every ball, I will do it if it will give us an extra possession. That’s my mentality and I’m really hoping to advance.”
Monday's game in part reflects a shift in Big 12 basketball, said TCU center Sedona Prince, as Texas and Baylor have long been the powerhouses of the conference.
TCU hasn’t played Texas since the Longhorns moved to the Southeastern Conference this season, but the Horned Frogs beat Baylor three times — twice in the regular season and again in the conference tournament for their first Big 12 Tournament title.
“I watched Baylor and Texas growing up being from Austin, and those are the two powerhouses,” Prince said. “Now being part of the shift and beating Baylor three times this year is a complete overturn of power in the Big 12, and (we) dominated and made it known that we were the No. 1 team in the Big 12.”
The trio of Van Lith, Prince and forward Madison Conner has been nearly unstoppable. All three average double figures. Prince pulls down nearly 10 rebounds per game. Conner is shooting 45.5% from 3-point range.
But the Horned Frogs will need to break through Texas' swarming defense and slow down Booker and the Longhorns' offensive weapons.
Booker, the first preseason Associated Press All-American in Texas history and SEC player of the year, averages 16.4 points and 6.8 rebounds. The frontcourt rotation of 6-foot-4 forward Taylor Jones and 6-foot-6 center Kyla Oldacre has posed issues all season in the post.
Point guard and defensive standout Rori Harmon has averaged 9.2 points and 6.1 assists in her first season back from a tough knee injury.
“TCU does have great players. They’re in the Elite Eight for a reason,” Harmon said. "They have great coaching and everything. I would say the same thing about my team, though. We have great players, great coaching, great preparation.
“But when talent meets talent, talent doesn’t matter anymore. It’s going to come down to the tougher team.”
Uneven footing
One of Van Lith's legs is shorter than the other.
Her right leg has always been half an inch longer than her left. It has given her problems her whole career.
“There’s a lot of physiological issues that I deal with because of it,” Van Lith said. “My whole right side is stronger and bigger. My hand is bigger, my foot is bigger, my quad is bigger. You can see it if you really look at me.”
Van Lith said she prefers to plant off her right leg. Fading to her left is a bit more comfortable.
She's found plenty of success anyway — Van Lith is the only player in college basketball history to reach the Elite Eight five times with three different teams.
She took Louisville there three times before transferring to LSU. The Tigers lost to Caitlin Clark and Iowa last year in the Elite Eight. Now, she's helped TCU get to the regional final.
“I deal with it every day,” Van Lith said of her legs. “But at this point in my career I’m older, and I know how to manage my body in that way.”
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