Hailey Van Lith’s dream run with TCU has come to an end.
No. 1 Texas successfully fended off Van Lith and the Horned Frogs in a defensive battle at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, on Monday night in their Elite Eight matchup of the NCAA tournament. The 58-47 win officially earned Texas its first trip to the Final Four since 2003.
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Texas dominated for much of the first half on Monday and kept Van Lith and the Horned Frogs at bay. Van Lith scored all eight of her first-half points in the second quarter, though, and even drilled a jumper at the buzzer to keep them within just a single possession at the break. TCU went just 3-of-16 from the 3-point line as a team in the first 20 minutes and committed 11 turnovers.
Though their defense did most of the work, Rori Harmon was about the only Longhorns player to take off offensively early. She had 11 points at halftime, including a rare made 3-pointer, and had half of the team’s made field goals at the break. Texas led 23-21 at the break.
While things didn’t get much better offensively, the Longhorns did hit a second 3-pointer in the third quarter and successfully fended off just about every push the Horned Frogs sent their way. They ended the quarter on a huge 10-2 run to take a nine-point lead at 42-33, the largest of the game at that point, into the final period.
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The Longhorns finally pushed their lead to double digits after Kyla Oldacre came up with a steal on Sedona Prince and converted an and-1 layup at the other end — which sparked a huge celebration after she crashed down to the floor.
From there, TCU was just about done. The Longhorns cruised through the rest of the period to grab the 11-point win and secure a spot next weekend in Florida.
Van Lith finished with 17 points and eight rebounds, though she shot just 3-of-15 from the field. She was the only TCU player to hit double figures. The team went 4-of-20 from behind the arc, and made just 12 field goals as a group while committing 21 turnovers.
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Van Lith, who transferred into TCU after stints at both Louisville and LSU, led the Horned Frogs to their best season in program history this year. They won a record 34 games and made it back to the NCAA tournament this spring for the first time in 15 years. The Horned Frogs had never made it out of the opening weekend of the tournament until they rolled to a 15-point win over Louisville to earn their first ever Sweet 16 trip. They then beat Notre Dame to make it to Monday’s game.
Madison Booker led the Longhorns with 18 points and six rebounds. Harmon added 13 points and five assists. This was Texas’ fourth trip to the Elite Eight in the last five seasons under head coach Vic Schaefer.
With their win, the Longhorns will take on No. 1 South Carolina next in Tampa on Friday — which marks just the latest battle between the two SEC teams this season.
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The Longhorns and Gamecocks split their regular season matchups, but then South Carolina rolled to a 19-point blowout win in the SEC tournament championship game earlier this month. South Carolina beat Texas by 17 points in their first matchup this season, too. The Longhorns’ lone win in the series came in February, when Harmon hit a pair of free throws in the final seconds to push them to a four-point win. That snapped the Gamecocks’ 57-game SEC regular-season win streak.
Though it will likely take a much better offensive night than they had on Monday to get past the defending national champions, the Longhorns’ defense is no joke. They know exactly how South Carolina plays, too, so there shouldn’t be any surprises. And if they can hold the Gamecocks to just a dozen made field goals on Friday, they could easily be in a position to bring home what would be their first championship since 1986.
