Friday, November 29
George Town, Grand Cayman
4 PM
TCU
7-0,0-0Big 12
76
vs
68
Notre Dame
5-1,0-0ACC
1
2
3
4
F
TCU
11
18
16
31
76
Notre Dame
21
14
21
12
68
TCU Stuns No. 3 Notre Dame Via Furious Fourth Quarter Comeback
11/29/2024 9:07:00 PM | Women's Basketball
GEORGE TOWN, Grand Cayman – TCU delivered a comeback for the ages in the Caribbean.
The 17th-ranked Horned Frogs outscored No. 3 Notre Dame 31-12 in the fourth quarter and rode the furious final frame frenzy to a 76-68 takedown of the Fighting Irish to begin the Cayman Islands Classic.
Hailey Van Lith scored 19 second half points in the Friday night thriller at John Gray High School Gym.
Sedona Prince delivered the greatest single-game performance by a TCU center, tallying 20 points, 20 rebounds, eight blocks, four assists and three steals.
Van Lith and Madison Conner netted nine points apiece in the fourth quarter.
The win is unquestionably the biggest in program history. The upset of the Irish is tied for the highest-ranked win in the 48-season existence of Horned Frogs women's basketball. It marked the fourth time TCU defeated the national No. 3 but arrived amidst an unprecedented boon in popularity for the women's game. Prior to Friday's triumph, TCU last defeated an AP Top Three opponent on Dec. 7, 2008, when it downed No. 3 Cal 82-73.
TCU (7-0) trailed by 14 points with three minutes to go in the third. Notre Dame (5-1) took a 56-45 advantage into the final period, rendering the Frogs' straights dire. The Irish had yet to lose under fifth-year head coach Niele Ivey when taking a double digit lead into the fourth quarter.
But in a span of 72 seconds, everything changed.
Conner sparked an 8-0 run with consecutive 3-pointers on TCU's first pair of possessions. A slip layup from Van Lith off a turnover capped what proved to be a turning point in the ballgame.
Van Lith later knotted the game at 61-61 near the five-minute mark. TCU had trailed by more than 33 minutes until that point and had not led outside of a 3-pointer on its first offensive possession.
Notre Dame inched back out in front with 4:07 remaining off a jumper by Olivia Miles (16 points, four assists). It proved to be the final lead of the night for the Irish.
From there, TCU ripped off a decisive 10-0 run over the ensuring two-and-a-half minutes. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Agnes Emma-Nnopu and Taylor Bigby gave the Frogs their first multi-possession lead. Van Lith and Prince then widened the advantage to 71-63 at the 1:37 mark in the period.
TCU forced the Irish to foul, leading 73-66 with 29 seconds to play. The Frogs went 5-6 at the charity stripe down the stretch to put the game on ice. Conner was 4-4 at the line.
The Horned Frogs connected at a 61 percent clip (11-18) in the fourth quarter and were 4-9 from deep. By contrast, TCU held the Irish to a paltry 5-20 mark and did not surrender a deep ball.
Prince's performance was nothing short of historic. She became the first player in NCAA history to record at least 20 rebounds and eight blocks in a game vs. an AP Top Five opponent. The 6-7 graduate student became one of just six players in Big 12 history to snag 20 boards vs. a top five foe. Prince also joined TCU Athletics Hall of Famer Sandora Irvin as one of just two Frogs to post a 20-point, 20-rebound game and the first in 20 years to do so. Irvin accomplished the feat on Feb. 2, 2004.
The Liberty Hill, Texas native's efforts kept TCU afloat early on.
Notre Dame scored 11 unanswered points following a 3-pointer by Bigby to begin the contest. The Irish stretched the lead to 15-5 six minutes in and took a 21-11 advantage into the second quarter. All-American Hannah Hidalgo, who led all scorers with 27 points, tallied eight in the opening frame. The Irish forced TCU, which entered the game boasting an NCAA-leading 2.25 assist-to-turnover ratio, into five giveaways and doubled up the Frogs 16-8 on the glass.
Down 12 with 6:34 to go before halftime, Prince punctuated a 9-0 run with six unanswered points to get TCU within three of the Irish, 32-29, at the 1:43 mark. Prince entered the locker room with 12 points, eight rebounds and five blocks. She converted a pair of looks on the low block on her first two second half touches to further cut into the Irish lead at 35-33 to begin the second half.
Van Lith collected a team-best 21 points and a game-high seven assists against just one turnover. She shot 8-15 from the field for the game and was 7-11 in the second half.
Conner finished with 18 points to give TCU three double-digit scorers.
Emma-Nnopu chipped in six of her eight points in the final frame. She led all bench players in scoring.
TCU became one of just 11 teams in the last five seasons to keep the Irish at-or-below 34 percent shooting from the field
Up Next
The Horned Frogs face former Conference USA rival South Florida at 6:30 p.m. CT in their second-and-final game of the Cayman Islands Classic. The Bulls (4-4) fell 59-52 to Mississippi State on Friday. TCU will earn its second straight 8-0 start to a season should it defeat USF.
Team Notes
The 17th-ranked Horned Frogs outscored No. 3 Notre Dame 31-12 in the fourth quarter and rode the furious final frame frenzy to a 76-68 takedown of the Fighting Irish to begin the Cayman Islands Classic.
Hailey Van Lith scored 19 second half points in the Friday night thriller at John Gray High School Gym.
Sedona Prince delivered the greatest single-game performance by a TCU center, tallying 20 points, 20 rebounds, eight blocks, four assists and three steals.
Van Lith and Madison Conner netted nine points apiece in the fourth quarter.
The win is unquestionably the biggest in program history. The upset of the Irish is tied for the highest-ranked win in the 48-season existence of Horned Frogs women's basketball. It marked the fourth time TCU defeated the national No. 3 but arrived amidst an unprecedented boon in popularity for the women's game. Prior to Friday's triumph, TCU last defeated an AP Top Three opponent on Dec. 7, 2008, when it downed No. 3 Cal 82-73.
TCU (7-0) trailed by 14 points with three minutes to go in the third. Notre Dame (5-1) took a 56-45 advantage into the final period, rendering the Frogs' straights dire. The Irish had yet to lose under fifth-year head coach Niele Ivey when taking a double digit lead into the fourth quarter.
But in a span of 72 seconds, everything changed.
Conner sparked an 8-0 run with consecutive 3-pointers on TCU's first pair of possessions. A slip layup from Van Lith off a turnover capped what proved to be a turning point in the ballgame.
Van Lith later knotted the game at 61-61 near the five-minute mark. TCU had trailed by more than 33 minutes until that point and had not led outside of a 3-pointer on its first offensive possession.
Notre Dame inched back out in front with 4:07 remaining off a jumper by Olivia Miles (16 points, four assists). It proved to be the final lead of the night for the Irish.
From there, TCU ripped off a decisive 10-0 run over the ensuring two-and-a-half minutes. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Agnes Emma-Nnopu and Taylor Bigby gave the Frogs their first multi-possession lead. Van Lith and Prince then widened the advantage to 71-63 at the 1:37 mark in the period.
TCU forced the Irish to foul, leading 73-66 with 29 seconds to play. The Frogs went 5-6 at the charity stripe down the stretch to put the game on ice. Conner was 4-4 at the line.
The Horned Frogs connected at a 61 percent clip (11-18) in the fourth quarter and were 4-9 from deep. By contrast, TCU held the Irish to a paltry 5-20 mark and did not surrender a deep ball.
Prince's performance was nothing short of historic. She became the first player in NCAA history to record at least 20 rebounds and eight blocks in a game vs. an AP Top Five opponent. The 6-7 graduate student became one of just six players in Big 12 history to snag 20 boards vs. a top five foe. Prince also joined TCU Athletics Hall of Famer Sandora Irvin as one of just two Frogs to post a 20-point, 20-rebound game and the first in 20 years to do so. Irvin accomplished the feat on Feb. 2, 2004.
The Liberty Hill, Texas native's efforts kept TCU afloat early on.
Notre Dame scored 11 unanswered points following a 3-pointer by Bigby to begin the contest. The Irish stretched the lead to 15-5 six minutes in and took a 21-11 advantage into the second quarter. All-American Hannah Hidalgo, who led all scorers with 27 points, tallied eight in the opening frame. The Irish forced TCU, which entered the game boasting an NCAA-leading 2.25 assist-to-turnover ratio, into five giveaways and doubled up the Frogs 16-8 on the glass.
Down 12 with 6:34 to go before halftime, Prince punctuated a 9-0 run with six unanswered points to get TCU within three of the Irish, 32-29, at the 1:43 mark. Prince entered the locker room with 12 points, eight rebounds and five blocks. She converted a pair of looks on the low block on her first two second half touches to further cut into the Irish lead at 35-33 to begin the second half.
Van Lith collected a team-best 21 points and a game-high seven assists against just one turnover. She shot 8-15 from the field for the game and was 7-11 in the second half.
Conner finished with 18 points to give TCU three double-digit scorers.
Emma-Nnopu chipped in six of her eight points in the final frame. She led all bench players in scoring.
TCU became one of just 11 teams in the last five seasons to keep the Irish at-or-below 34 percent shooting from the field
Up Next
The Horned Frogs face former Conference USA rival South Florida at 6:30 p.m. CT in their second-and-final game of the Cayman Islands Classic. The Bulls (4-4) fell 59-52 to Mississippi State on Friday. TCU will earn its second straight 8-0 start to a season should it defeat USF.
Team Notes
- TCU pocketed its fifth all-time win over an AP Top Five foe.
- The Horned Frogs earned their first top-10 win since defeating No. 7 Texas, 79-77, on Jan. 10, 2018.
- TCU has now won two straight games vs. ranked opposition for just the third time in program history. The Frogs knocked off No. 13 NC State 76-73 on Nov. 17.
- TCU snared two ranked wins in the same season for the first time since 2019-20 with the win.
- TCU joined South Carolina as the only programs in the country thus far to defeat two preseason AP Top 10 teams.
- Friday's triumph was TCU's first-ever over Notre Dame.
- TCU beat a ranked team on the road or in a neutral site affair for the first time since Jan. 3, 2020, in a 65-63 takedown of No. 7 Texas in Austin.
- TCU extended its nonconference winning streak to 22 games overall and improved to 20-0 in nonconference tilts under Mark Campbell.
- The Horned Frogs overcame a 10-point deficit to win for the first time in six seasons. TCU last accomplished the feat on Feb. 6, 2019, when it erased an 11-point hole at Texas Tech in an eventual 75-72 victory.
- TCU won its 30th all-time game in a Thanksgiving holiday tournament
- Prince's 20 rebounds are the most in a game by any D1 player vs. a ranked team thus far in 2024-25.
- Prince produced her 17th double-double in purple and white.
- Prince's 20 rebounds were a career best.
- Prince came two blocks shy of matching her career high.
- Prince stuffed three-or-more shots for the 20th time.
- Van Lith led TCU in scoring for the third straight game and fourth time this season.
- Van Lith has dished out seven-plus assists in four of her first seven games as a Frog.
- Van Lith shot 67 percent (8-12) inside the arc.
- Conner canned three 3-pointers in the game for the 30th time in her career.
- Emma-Nnopu logged a season-high 28 minutes in her fourth game back from injury.
Team Stats
TCU
ND
FG%
.444
.347
3FG%
.280
.333
FT%
.684
.650
RB
41
44
TO
16
12
STL
4
9
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
20
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
18
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
5
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's BasketballG
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