TCU Moves on to Second Round of NCAA Tournament

FORT WORTH – The Horned Frogs are in the winner’s circle in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in nearly two decades.
 
Madison Conner scored 23 points as No. 2 seed TCU rolled past No. 15 Fairleigh Dickinson, 73-51, and into the round of 32 of the Big Dance on Friday at Schollmaier Arena.
 
TCU shot 63 percent from the field (26-41) over the game’s final three quarters. Conner was one of four Horned Frogs to score in double figures. 
 
Sedona Prince netted a 16-point, 10-rebound and three-block double-double. Hailey Van Lith and Agnes Emma-Nnopu pitched n 13 points and 10 points, respectively.
 
TCU (32-3, 16-2 Big 12) notched its sixth all-time NCAA Tournament victory and first since 2006 with the result.
 
The Frogs face either No. 7 Louisville or No. 10 Nebraska on Sunday for a chance to become the first team to reach the Sweet 16 in school history. 
 
Conner tallied 10 points in the second quarter to create separation from the Northeast Conference champion Knights (29-4). 
 
FDU hit eight of its first 16 shots and converted five straight layups to take a 17-14 lead into the second frame.
 
Conner drilled her first of four 3-pointers with TCU trailing 21-19. The 5-11 guard tallied seven of the TCU’s last nine points in the first half to stake the Frogs to a 35-27 halftime lead.
 
Consecutive buckets in the paint from Prince preceded Conner’s fourth-and-final 3-pointer of the afternoon to create a 52-35 lead with 54 seconds remaining in the third quarter that was never challenged.
 
Prince recorded all three blocks and half of her points in the third.
 
Van Lith padded the final margin of victory – TCU’s largest in an NCAA Tournament game – with eight fourth quarter points.
 
TCU limited an FDU squad averaging 8.4 threes per game to 1-11 shooting from distance. The Knights’ 51 points were their second-fewest in a game all season.
 
Conner finished 9-17 from the field and 4-9 behind the arc. Her 23 points are the second-most ever by a Horned Frog in an NCAA Tournament game.
 
Prince became the fifth player in program history to record a double-double in the Big Dance.
 
Van Lith led all players with seven assists. Her fourth dime was her 185^th of the year and broke TCU’s single-season record.
 
FDU was led by 18 points from Tenesia Brown.
 
The Knights had won 22 straight ballgames and not lost since Dec. 11 prior to Friday.
 
Team Notes

• The Horned Frogs picked up the university’s 13^th NCAA Tournament win when including the men’s program.
• The Frogs boosted their postseason record to 20-17.
• TCU improved to 9-0 in postseason play at home.
• The Frogs have now won 23 straight home games – the second-longest in program history – dating back to Feb. 13, 2024. TCU is five wins shy of breaking its longest continuous home winning streak.
• TCU improved to 20-0 at home this season.
• TCU’s 32 victories are tied for the 12^th-most in a season by a Big 12 Conference team.
• The Frogs increased their year-over win improvement to 11 games, tops among all teams remaining in the NCAA Tournament.
• TCU set a Big 12 record for the most threes in a two-season window by a Big 12 team with its fifth 3-pointer of the ballgame. The Horned Frogs have now drilled 650 threes since 2023-24, overtaking Iowa State’s combined haul of 638 from 2020-22.
• TCU had four player score in double figures for the 14^th time this season and third straight game. The Frogs remained undefeated at 14-0 when four players finish with 10-plus.
• The Frogs finished with 18 assists. TCU has dished out 18-or-more dimes now in 21 games this season, tied for the fifth-most of any team in America.
• TCU increased its season 3-pointers tally to 334, putting the 2024-25 Horned Frogs squad 24 shy of breaking Iowa State’s 2021-22 Big 12 single-season record.
• FDU became the 28^th opponent TCU has held below its season scoring average this season. TCU has now prevented eight straight opponents from meeting or exceeding its points per game tally.
• The Horned Frogs have now limited 27 teams from reaching 55-or-more points in the Mark Campbell era. 
• The Knights are the 24^th team TCU has limited to five-or-fewer 3-pointers.
• TCU took a lead into the locker room for an NCAA-leading 33^rd game this season. The Frogs have led at halftime in 25 straight outings.

Individual Notes

• Van Lith played in her nation-leading 18^th NCAA Tournament game.
• Van Lith notched her 14^th career NCAA Tournament victory, the most of any player in the field.
• Van Lith (621 points) needs 37 points to break Sandora Irvin’s 2003-04 program record for most points in a season.
• Conner drained at least four 3-pointers for the 22^nd time in 35 outings in Schollmaier Arena.
• Conner increased her season 3-pointers tally to 122, nine shy of tying the Big 12 single-season record.
• Conner has now tallied 518 points this season. She made TCU one of only two teams alongside LSU with three 500-point scorers on its roster.
• Prince finished with her 29^th double-double in 55 outings as a Horned Frog.
• Prince’s performance marked her second career double-double in an NCAA Tournament game. She netted 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead Oregon to a round of 32 victory over Georgia as a redshirt freshman in the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
• Prince posted a double-double for the third time in the last four games.
• Prince is seven points shy of reaching 600 this season.
• Prince needs 18 points to tally 1,500 for her career.
• Emma-Nnopu paired seven rebounds with her 10 points. She pulled down seven-plus boards for the 31^st time as a Frog.
• Emma-Nnopu scored in double figures for the fifth time this season and 22^nd game in the last two years.
• Hunter finished with three assists against no turnovers across 26 minutes.
• Hunter has generated a 2.42 assist-to-turnover ratio (46-19) across TCU’s 11-game winning streak.
• Campbell has now increased his teams’ yearly win totals by 11 games in each of his four seasons as a head coach.