Monday, March 24, 2025

TCU Women's Basketball Earns First NCAA Tourney 'Sweet 16' Berth


The second-seeded TCU women’s basketball team earned a Sweet Sixteen berth in the 2025 NCAA Tournament by defeating Louisville, 85-70, on Sunday, March 23, in the tourney's second round, held in Schollmaier Arena, on TCU's campus.

This is the program’s first Sweet Sixteen berth, and the first Sweet Sixteen berth for either a TCU women’s or men’s basketball team.

In a first-round game, also played in Schollmaier Arena (on Friday, March 21), TCU defeated Fairleigh Dickinson (FDU), 73-51. After the TCU-FDU game, Louisville defeated Nebraska, 63-58, in Schollmaier.

This is the 10th appearance in a NCAA Tournament for a TCU women's basketball team. In nine previous appearances, TCU had never advanced out of the first weekend. 

TCU will face No. 3 seed Notre Dame in the Sweet Sixteen, on Saturday, March 29, in Birmingham, Alabama. The game will be broadcast by ABC, either at noon or 2:30 pm (Central). 

The Horned Frogs defeated the Fighting Irish 76-68, on November 29, in the Cayman Islands Classic.

The winner of the TCU-Notre Dame Sweet 16 game will play an "Elite Eight" game against the winner of the March 29 Sweet 16 game that will be played in Birmingham between Texas and Tennessee. 

The "Elite Eight" game will be played in Birmingham on Monday, March 31, at 6 pm. The game will be broadcast by ESPN. The game's winner will earn a trip to the Final Four in Tampa, Florida, which begins on April 4.

TCU’s victory over Louisville came in front of 7,494 fans (including Big 12 Conference Commissioner Brett Yormark) at Schollmaier Arena, a program record for attendance. The 969 students in attendance also set a TCU women's basketball student attendance record.

The victory over the Cardinals was the 23rd straight win at home for the Horned Frogs, who are in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010.

The Frogs improved their 2024-25 season record to 33-3. 

With a 16-2 conference record, TCU won the Big 12 regular-season title, including two victories over longtime-nemesis Baylor. The Frogs also won the Big 12 Conference Tournament, including a clinching victory over Baylor. 

Baylor was a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Bears were eliminated from the tourney in a second-round loss on their home court in Waco to Ole Miss.
 
Team Notes:

  • TCU is just two years removed from a 2022-23 season that saw the program finish 8-23 overall and 1-17 in league play, prior to current head coach Mark Campbell's arrival in Fort Worth.
  • TCU's 33 wins are tied for the sixth-most in a season by a Big 12 team.
  • TCU's 33 victories are second to Texas' 34 wins for the most of any women's basketball team. 
  • The Horned Frogs' win percentage (.917) trails only No. 1 overall seed UCLA (.941) for the national lead.
  • The Frogs are 37-4 inside Schollmaier Arena in the Campbell era. 
  • The Frogs increased fan attendance from the previous season by 28,666 spectators. For the 2024-25 season, 72,444 fans visited Schollmaier Arena.
  • In the victory over Louisville, TCU eclipsed the 80-point threshold for the 18th time this season.
  • Louisville became the 29th team TCU has prevented from meeting or exceeding its season scoring average.
  • TCU held Louisville to its third-lowest field goal percentage (.338) in a game this season.
  • TCU has led at halftime in 26 straight games and an NCAA-leading 34-of-36 games this season.
  • TCU won its 12th game this season versus an NCAA Tournament team.
  • Seven TCU players have advanced to multiple Sweet 16 berths: Hailey Van Lith (five); Emma-Nnopu (three); Madison Conner (two); Donovyn Hunter (two), Sedona Prince (two), Taylor Bigby (two) and Maddie Scherr (two).  
  • Campbell has reached the Sweet 16 five times in his coaching career. 
  • Campbell is the only head coach in the NCAA Tournament to both win 30 games and capture an undisputed regular season conference championship within two seasons of taking over his/her respective program. 
  • Campbell is a finalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year Award. Campbell is the first TCU basketball coach to ever receive consideration for the award. The other finalists are Cori Close (UCLA), Lindsay Gottlieb (USC) and Dawn Staley (South Carolina). The four finalists were chosen by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's national voting academy, comprised of leading journalists from around the country, current and former head coaches, past award winners and conference commissioners. The award winner will be announced on April 2 in Tampa, Florida, as a part of Final Four weekend.







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