No. 9 TCU outlasts No. 25 Baylor, snaps 37-game losing streak to Big 12 rival

For the first time in 35 years, TCU women’s basketball defeated Baylor in a dramatic 80-75 win at Schollmaier Arena Sunday afternoon.

The Horned Frogs’ victory snapped a 37-game losing streak to the Bears and was the first win over their rivals since Feb. 28, 1990.

“What an awesome college basketball game,” coach Mark Campbell. “It was just an incredible environment. The final attendance (5500) had to be our high for the season. They got treated to a great game between two teams and that thing came down to the wire. This is team is growing, I’m so proud of them.”

The streak to the Bears was a painful reminder of just how far apart the two rivals were. Even during the best days of the Jeff Mittie era during the 2000’s, it paled in comparison to what Kim Mulkey was achieving in Waco.

While the Horned Frogs were making the tournament, Baylor was winning it with Mulkey leading the Bears to three national championships in the midst of the domination over TCU.

The Bears haven’t quite maintained the Mulkey-era dominance under Nikki Collen, but Baylor is still Baylor. That’s why out of all the historic feats that TCU accomplished, the win over the Bears ranks up there at the top for players like Prince.

“It’s top two or three,” Prince said. “I grew up watching the Big 12, I’m from Austin, when I was in the seventh grade I would go watch Texas play Baylor and Brittney Griner was my first idol in basketball. Seeing Baylor as that powerhouse school for a very long time when I was very young, dreaming of being here and doing this for TCU it’s just really special.”

It did not come easy as the Horned Frogs had to withstand a desperate Baylor rally in the fourth quarter. After leading by as many as 22 points in the second half, TCU’s lead was cut to 78-75 with just 15.7 seconds remaining.

The Horned Frogs scored only two points over five minutes in the fourth, allowing Baylor to storm back after trailing 73-61.

Agnes Emma-Nnopu hit a free throw with 13 seconds left to put the Horned Frogs ahead 79-75, but Baylor missed a 3-pointer and TCU survived.

TCU was led by Sedona Prince’s 24 points while Madison Conner added 21.

It was a pivotal win for TCU beyond just bragging rights as the Horned Frogs bounced back from blowing a fourth quarter lead in their 60-59 loss to Oklahoma State on Jan. 22, which also snapped their nine-game winning streak to open league play.

“I wish it was that easy that you go into halftime and the other team doesn’t make adjustments,” Campbell said. “But our group is growing through that. The Oklahoma State game, I will take a lot of the blame for not being able to manage the second half wisely. The way (we) managed the clock today was night and day different than the Oklahoma State game.”

Despite 12 first-half turnovers, the Horned Frogs led 42-31 at the half thanks to six 3-pointers and 11 points from Prince in the second quarter.

TCU poured it on in the third, playing smothering defense and relying on Prince and Conner on offense.

Conner and Prince combined to score 17 in the quarter including a back-to-back sequence where Conner knocked down a heavily contested 3 and Prince converted a three-point play off a pick-and-roll to put TCU ahead 55-33 with less than five minutes remaining in the quarter.

It was the fourth straight game with the Horned Frogs having a large lead in the second half. In the other three instances, Central Florida, Utah and Oklahoma State were able to stage some comebacks and make it a single-digit game in the fourth quarter.

Would it be the same story against the Bears? Baylor used a desperate rally to cut the lead to 62-49 entering the fourth, putting the pressure back on TCU, which found itself in the same situation it was against Oklahoma State.

The late game struggles over shadowed the Horned Frogs having arguably their strongest showing of the season as they held Baylor to just 34.2% in the first half and 36.8% overall.

The Bears entered Sunday with one of the best offenses in the country, averaging close to 80 points per game and having an offensive rating that ranks No. 27 nationally.

But against TCU, the Bears’ high-powered offense was inefficient and struggled to play at their own pace thanks to defensive performances of Emma-Nnopu and Donovyn Hunter. Were it not for 16 points off 18 TCU turnovers, it could’ve been an ever stronger showing on defense by TCU.

It wasn’t flawless, but the Horned Frogs added another milestone to the Campbell era and will now have a week off before the next game at Iowa State on Feb. 2.