March Madness at home for Frogs as TCU women win 73-51 over FDU when hosting for 1st time
FORT WORTH, Texas — Hailey Van Lith is in her fifth NCAA Tournament, while Sedona Prince and Madison Conner had also already made multiple postseason appearances.
Now together at TCU, they got a March Madness victory at home for the Horned Frogs.
Conner had 23 points with four 3-pointers and Prince overcame two early fouls to have 16 points and 10 rebounds as the second-seeded Frogs won 73-51 over Fairleigh Dickinson on Friday in their first women's NCAA Tournament game at home — and first anywhere in 15 years.
'I've had a pretty good amount of success in March Madness. So I kind of know what it feels like ... what kind of vibe a team is in when they're going to have a good run,' said Van Lith, who has been to Elite Eights with second-round opponent Louisville (three) and LSU. 'That game was really good for us.'
Van Lith added 13 points and seven assists for the Big 12 champion Horned Frogs (32-3), who have an 11-game winning streak.
Teneisia Brown had 18 points and Ava Renninger 12 for 15th-seeded FDU (29-4), the Northeast Conference champions who had won 22 games in a row and were in the NCAA Tournament for the first time.
'With this team, there was just something that told me that we were going to be competitive,' FDU coach Stephanie Gaitley said. 'Obviously we got outmatched talent-wise, but I couldn't be more proud of what we did today, obviously what we've done all year.'
There were nine early lead change, the last when TCU went ahead to stay on Conner's 3 to make it 21-20 with 7 1/2 minutes left in the first half. Those were the first of 10 points in the second quarter by Conner, who sometimes gets overshadowed by her teammates.
'I have two great people beside me,' said Conner, sitting between Van Lith and Prince on the postgame podium. 'I don't think our egos affect how we play on the court. ... That's what makes it so special. And why I think we've had such a great season, is just because we're so unselfish in that way.'
TCU had its first double-digit lead soon after halftime when Conner, one of the nation's best long-range shooters, took a pass from Prince and made a 3 to make it 40-29.
FDU's biggest lead came with Prince on the bench after her second foul, when reaching for an offensive rebound with 2:46 left in the first quarter. Brown then had consecutive layups on assists from Renninger for a 17-12 lead.
Prince didn't have any more fouls after returning early in the second quarter, right before TCU took the lead for good.
Taking the charges
The first foul against the 6-foot-7 Prince was on a charge against 5-6 guard Abaigeal Babore.
'I like taking charges,' Babore said. 'Anything that I can do to provide for the team, I'll do it. If that's putting my body on the line against someone that's 6-7, why not. I mean, when are you going to have the chance to do it again? So why not?'
Babore did it again in the second quarter, drawing a charge against 6-1 Taylor Bigby.
Takeaways
FDU: The Knights hadn't lost since an 83-58 loss at instate New Jersey foe Rutgers on Dec. 11. This was their second season with Gaitley, who made her 10th NCAA appearance with her fourth different team over a four-decade career.
TCU: While it took the Frogs a little bit to settle in 12 days after winning the Big 12 tournament, they got their first NCAA victory since 2006 and extended their home-court winning streak to 23 games in a row. This win came two years to the date after Mark Campbell was hired as TCU's coach, with the team coming off a season when it was 1-17 in the Big 12.
Up next
The Horned Frogs, who never made past the second round in their previous nine NCAA appearances, play at home again Sunday against Louisville after the Cardinals beat Nebraska 63-58. Van Lith went to the Elite Eight three times, once getting to the Final Four, with the Cardinals from 2021-23.
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