No. 10 TCU women’s basketball continues historic run with win over No. 23 Utah

After a lackluster defensive showing in their win over the University of Central Florida on Jan. 14, the Horned Frogs took their defensive intensity to another level in an 81-73 win over No. 23 Utah Friday night.

The visiting Utes entered the Big 12 matchup with a top-40 scoring offense, and Texas Christian coach Mark Campbell put a major emphasis on defense after the Horned Frogs allowed 81 points to UCF. The message was clearly received as TCU smothered Utah in the first half.

The Horned Frogs (19-1, 7-0) surged to take a 19-9 lead in the first quarter as Utah (13-5, 4-3) had six turnovers and just two field goals during the period.

“I think we were disruptive,” Hailey Van Lith said. “If you let Utah run their offense, they’re very smooth, they know what they’re doing and they know who’s getting the shot. We had to be disruptive or they would have hit shots and did whatever they wanted all night. I thought we did a good job of playing physical and setting the tone.”

The synergy of the Horned Frogs on defense stood out as TCU aggressively fought through screens, trapped Utes near the paint and was active in the passing lanes to force turnovers.

“That was 40 minutes of high level basketball,” Campbell said after the win. “I think our defense in the first half was elite... Give Utah credit for playing a great second half.”

Van Lith, known for her scoring ability, was also a standout defensively. There was one stretch in the first when Van Lith forced a jump ball and then TCU forced a five-second violation on the ensuing inbound pass.

The Horned Frogs continued their lockdown defense in the second quarter, but that’s when TCU’s high-powered offense came alive.

Van Lith and Agnes Emma-Nnopu combined to hit three straight 3s to break the game open as TCU’s lead increased to 35-18 with just 4:02 remaining until halftime. During the 3-point flurry, center Sedona Prince picked up her third foul and had to sit for the final five minutes of the second quarter.

It was a pivotal moment and briefly opened up the window for the Utes to come back, but the rest of TCU’s big three refused to let the Utes gain momentum.

Van Lith knocked down another 3 and then Madison Conner made a defender fall before draining a 3-pointer of her own. Van Lith and Conner combined to score 15 points in the second as TCU took a 45-24 lead into halftime.

Despite leading by as many as 23 points, the Utes were able to make things interesting late as Utah hit seven 3s in the first 14 minutes of the second half to cut TCU’s lead to 67-61.

As the Utes were finding their footing offensively, TCU had to overcome foul trouble as Prince and starting guard Taylor Bigby had four fouls with 5:40 remaining in the game.

But Prince and Conner scored four quick points to push the lead up to 71-61 and then Prince forced a turnover that led to a pull-up jumper from Van Lith that increased the lead to 73-61 as TCU shut down the comeback effort.

“That’s what they do. Haley, Madison and Sedonna they’re built for it and they want it,” Campbell said. “At the end of the day we go as far as those three take us.”

It was only fitting that it was TCU’s big three who came up clutch when the game was on the line. Not only did the trio combine for 60 points, it set the tone defensively during the decisive 6-0 run that put the game away.

TCU will face No. 24 Oklahoma State in Stillwater on Wednesday.