Subscribe
Follow Us
The 2025 women's NCAA Tournament is off to a thrilling and record-setting start, especially for the TCU women's basketball team. While there's still no clear frontrunner out of the remaining contenders, the Horned Frogs are two rounds closer to the title and have shaken off their initial nerves following their dominant 73-51 win over Fairleigh Dickinson, the program's first in the tournament since 2006.
March Madness presents a major chance for TCU women's basketball to prove the team's turnaround really has made it a serious threat to go deeper into this year's tournament. The Horned Frogs may not be a perennial program in the Big Dance – they're going for just their eighth women's March Madness victory of all time in the Sweet 16 – but the additional boost of confidence from their first two wins over FDU and Louisville might be what they need to finally have their breakout year.
Taking on Louisville had additional significance for star Hailey Van Lith, who faced down her former school for the first time since transferring after the 2022-23 campaign. Despite downplaying the showdown, claiming it wasn't a big deal, Van Lith did make the tournament in her first three seasons alongside Louisville coach Jeff Walz and had the furthest March Madness run of her college career so far, going all the way to the Final Four in 2022.
The Big 12 player of the year has the talent to lead TCU deeper into the tournament than it has ever been before, coming off the best regular season of her career and already having helped the program claim its best-ever March Madness seed at No. 2.
However, the graduate student had a rusty start in the opening contest alongside most of her team, and the fact that the Horned Frogs had to grind out a Round of 64 win against a 15th seed could be a concerning recipe for future upsets.
Luckily, Van Lith has reliable teammates who can step up and take over a game when she struggles. Madison Conner put up a team-high 23 points and shot 4-of-9 from three, Sedona Prince notched a 16-point 10-rebound double-double with three blocks, and Agnes Emma-Nnopu added 10 points to Van Lith's 13 and seven assists.
This lineup powered TCU women's basketball to its first regular-season and conference tournament titles, and it could make a legitimate run at the national title too.
There's plenty at stake for this group, and not just on a personal level. TCU is 21-0 at home this season, on a 12-game win streak, and going for the school's first Elite Eight appearance in history (men's or women's). The way the Frogs handle the pressure will either make or break their odds against the formidable competitors that sit between them and the championship trophy.
Key Matchups
Louisville
All eyes were on this face-off because of Van Lith's history with and ties to the Cardinals, but there was a lot more about this contest to pay attention to. Louisville is not only a fast-paced offensive team, but it's also able to efficiently create extra offensive possessions to balance out its off-shooting performances. Those skills were on display during the first-round game against Nebraska, as the squad collectively grabbed 18 offensive rebounds and forced 24 turnovers.
There was little room for error for the Frogs, and they didn't come out the gate struggling like they did in their first game. Emma-Nnopu rose to the top in Game 2, scoring a season-high 23 while nailing four 3-pointers. Prince added 19 to the scoreboard, and Donovyn Hunter put up three 3s on her way to a career-best 18 points. Meanwhile, Van Lith notched a double-double versus her former squad with 16 points and 10 assists.
The squad was offensively on fire versus the Cardinals, knocking down 70% of shots in the first half alone en route to an 85-70 victory over the seventh seed. Emma-Nnopu and Hunter have proven that TCU has more firepower in its arsenal than just its biggest standouts like Van Lith and Prince, and that helped the Frogs sail into the third round for the first time in school history.
Notre Dame
Many teams had an intimidating first outing in the tournament, and the Irish were one of them. Notre Dame bullied Stephen F. Austin en route to a 106-54 blowout victory, showing the field exactly why the program shouldn't be underestimated despite ending its regular season on a slump. Even the only potential crisis for the Irish, an ankle injury suffered by star guard Olivia Miles, has been averted as she returned to the team for its second-round contest.
Notre Dame's level of parity could be one of the hardest aspects for TCU to overcome, with 11 different players adding points to the scoreboard in the opening game. Outside of Miles, Sonia Citron, who put up 24, and Hannah Hidalgo are also two of the best athletes in women's college basketball and are hard to disrupt when the offense is flowing between them.
However, the Frogs did topple the Irish 76-68 back in November, so they have the advantage of entering the matchup knowing there's a realistic shot at recreating the same magic. Notre Dame is poised to make it far in the tournament, so TCU will need every player to step up and a stalwart defensive front if it wants to make it to the Elite Eight.
Texas
The Longhorns also helped set the tournament record for most squads to surpass the 100-point mark in a single round with their 105-61 defeat of William & Mary. Sophomore standout Madison Booker had the team's most dominant showing with a 20-point, 14-rebound double-double, followed closely by Kyla Oldacre's 15 points and 15 rebounds, and Taylor Jones' 19 points. Texas has the luxury of rotating reliable bench players with solid starters, such as all-time program leader in games played and wins Shay Holle, which is only one of the No. 1 seed's strengths.
Texas will have more competitive opponents than the Tribe going forward, but its depth and 37 years of tournament experience already create a major advantage over most teams. However, that doesn't make the Longhorns unbeatable. Texas can be beaten from beyond the arc, where it averages just 3.2 shots a game and only hits 29.6% of them. The Frogs take 9.6 3-pointers and hit an average of 37.6%, so if they're able to overcome Texas' SEC-leading defense, they're in line to pull off an upset that would clear their path to the NCAA championship game.
TCU's path through the NCAA Tournament will both challenge the team's resilience and gift opportunities to show off its growth. The Horned Frogs are coming in with the ambitious goal of capturing their first-ever championship, so their ability to step up to those challenges game after game will determine their trajectory and how other squads view them as opponents.
The program seemingly has all the pieces it needs, like a well-rounded offensive game, tough defense, a balanced roster of dynamic athletes, solid leadership from coaches and players, and strong home-court play. TCU women's basketball has been steadily building itself up to compete with the top teams in the nation, and this year's tournament will prove whether those efforts have paid off.
