TCU Outlasts Colorado 69-62, Advances to Big 12 Championship Semifinals

Friday, March 7

Kansas City, Mo.

1:30 PM

TCU

29-3,16-2Big 12

Colorado

20-12,9-9Big 12

Colorado

TCU

TCU Outlasts Colorado 69-62, Advances to Big 12 Championship Semifinals

3/7/2025 5:58:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Postgame Quotes

Van Lith scores game-high 24 to lead Horned Frogs past Buffaloes

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – On a day the rotation was short and the opponent red-hot, No. 8 TCU rode its stars into the final four of the Big 12 Championship.

Hailey Van Lith drained five 3-pointers en route to a game-high 24 points to lead the Horned Frogs to a 69-62 victory over Colorado in a quarterfinal bout on Friday inside the T-Mobile Center. Sedona Prince finished 18 points, six rebounds and three blocks. while Donovyn Hunter added 13 points. Prince nailed a midrange jumper with 20 seconds to go and TCU nursing a three-point lead. She drew an offensive foul three seconds later to ice the game.

TCU (29-3, 16-2 Big 12), the top overall seed in the 16-team affair, now faces No. 4 seed West Virginia at 3 p.m. on Saturday in the semifinals. The Frogs defeated the 16^th-ranked Mountaineers, 71-50, on Feb. 23 in Fort Worth.

Colorado (20-13, 9-9 Big 12), led for more than 15 minutes of the first half. The No. 9 seed Buffaloes hit seven straight field goals and 8-of-9 to open the game and assume a 17-9 lead. Jade Masogayo made her first seven shots and netted a team-high 22 points.

The Buffaloes rode 14 points over the game's first 12 minutes and led the Frogs 31-28 with 2:50 to go before the half.

Van Lith sparked an 8-0 TCU run spanning all of 36 seconds that proved to be a turning point in the ballgame. The Big 12 Player of the Year forced a turnover, drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to give TCU the lead for good. She capped the spurt with an assist to Prince on a transition layup.

TCU overcame a 67 percent first half shooting clip (14-21) by Colorado to take a 36-32 edge into the locker room. Van Lith shot 4-5 from distance across the game's opening 20 minutes.

She accounted for eight points in a 13-2 TCU run spanning the final seven minutes of the third. TCU held Masogayo to just two points and 1-6 shooting in the period.

TCU took its largest lead of the afternoon, 57-44, with 7:35 remaining. Colorado answered back with 10 straight points to render the affair down to a one-possession ballgame entering the final media timeout.

Van Lith snapped a four-minute scoreless spell with a step back jumper. Hunter followed with consecutive layups and gave the Frogs a 63-58 lead at the 2:21 mark of the final frame. Colorado twice crawled back within three points, but Prince countered with a bucket each time. Van Lith knocked down a pair at the charity stripe with two seconds to go.

Colorado finished the game 54 percent from the field (25-46).

TCU was without Agnes Emma-Nnopu due to injury. The 5-11 graduate student has averaged 6.7 rebounds per game over her last 21 starts and leads all Big 12 guards in offensive board (63).

Aaliyah Roberson earned the start and played a season-high 26 minutes in place of Emma-Nnopu.

TCU converted 10-23 attempts from downtown, including 7-14 in the first half.

The 6-7 Prince led all players with five assists as TCU netted 16.

Saturday's tilt vs. the Mountaineers will air on ESPNU and ESPN+.

Team Notes

TCU notched its sixth all-time Big 12 Championship victory.
The Horned Frogs advanced to the semifinals of the Big 12 Championship for the second time in program history. TCU last reached the final four of the conference tournament in 2017-18.
The Frogs have now won their opening game in the Big 12 Championship for three straight seasons.
TCU advanced to a conference tournament semifinal for the 11^th time in its history.
TCU improved to 6-2 in neutral site affairs under Mark Campbell.
The Frogs have now claimed eight consecutive ballgames vs. Big 12 foes for the first time ever.
The Horned Frogs have led at halftime in all 19 of their tilts vs. Big 12 opposition and in 22 straight ballgames.
TCU has topped the scoreboard entering the intermission in 30 games, the most of any team in America.
The Frogs increased their season 3-pointers tally to 311, one shy of matching their 2033-24 school record.
TCU now ranks second nationally in games with 10-or-more three-balls (16).
TCU's 16 assists were one short of its Big 12 Championship record, set in the program's 68-66 victory over Oklahoma State on March 8, 2024.
Colorado became the 25^th team TCU has prevented from meeting its season scoring average this season.
The Horned Frogs have kept 16 of their 19 Big 12 opponents below their season scoring average.
The Frogs received one bench point, their fewest in a game all season.
TCU improved to 23-1 this year when finishing with the edge in points in the paint. The Frogs generated 26 points to Colorado's 22.

Individual Notes

Campbell boosted his career head coaching record in conference tournament play to 5-2.
Campbell and TCU increased their shared year-over-year win improvement to 21 games.
Campbell has now reached the semifinals of a conference tournament in six seasons when including his tenure as associate head coach at Oregon from 2014-21.
Van Lith is averaging 22.5 points over her last four outings. She has scored 20-plus in three times in the Frogs' quartet of wins.
Van Lith hit the 20-point threshold for the 48^th time in her career.
Van Lith finished as TCU's points leader for a team-leading 16^th game.
Van Lith's five 3-pointers were the second most ever by a TCU player in a Big 12 Championship game.
Van Lith is now at 170 assists for the season. She needs 15 to break the Frogs' single-season record (184), set by Natasha Lacy in 2017-18.
Hunter scored in double figures for the seventh time in a TCU uniform.
Hunter's 13 points were one shy of her TCU career high.
Hunter connected at a season-best 83 percent (6-7) from the field.
Hunter finished with four assists. She is averaging 4.5 per game across TCU's eight-game winning streak.
Conner increased her season 3-pointers tally to 111, putting her 20 shy of matching Taylor Robertson's 2019-20 Big 12 single-season record.
Conner finished 3-3 behind the arc. She is shooting 46 percent (59-128) from downtown vs. Big 12 foes.
Prince's 18 points were her most in a conference tournament game.