Hailey Van Lith has led TCU all season, and she did it again as No. 8 TCU defeated No. 17 Baylor 64-59 in the championship game of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship on Sunday at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.
Van Lith led the Horned Frogs with 20 points to help TCU capture its first title in program history. It was also the team’s first appearance in the championship game.
“Honestly, team achievements are such a flex to say that your team is good,” Van Lith said. “Anybody can go out and average 20 a game and play on a bad team and never get to the postseason. To say that your team kicks people’s butts, that’s the ultimate flex.”
Baylor, meanwhile, was playing in its 16th Big 12 title game, the most in conference history. The Bears have won a record 11 tournament titles.
TCU (31-3) got a double-double from Sedona Prince with 12 points and 14 rebounds. Donovyn Hunter and Madison Conner each added 11 points.
Aaronette Vonleh led Baylor (27-7) with 20 points. Sarah Andrews chipped in 13 points and Yaya Felder had 12.
The Bears failed to secure a 12th Big 12 title, but they will now shift focus to the NCAA Tournament, which they last won in 2019.
“This team was great,” Andrews said postgame. “You know, we battled back when we were down at halftime. I’m gonna give us a day to hang our heads about it.
“But when 11:59 or 12 o’clock comes tonight, it’s time to move on and get ready for the NCAA Tournament.”
The lead in the third quarter fluctuated between seven and 12 points, with TCU taking a 51-43 lead into the final frame. Felder had 10 points in the third and Vonleh had eight.
Trailing by eight midway through the fourth quarter, the Bears used an 8-0 run to tie the game at 57-57.
Van Lith hit a layup with 48.8 seconds left to give TCU a four-point lead. Baylor cut it to 61-59. Conner hit 1 of 2 free throws and Vonleh’s 3-pointer missed with three seconds remaining.
“That game was everything you hoped for a Big 12 championship,” TCU coach Mark Campbell said. “I mean, it came down to the last possession, literally. Baylor is a really good team with a great coaching staff, and we got three great games against those guys. But at the end of the day, we always found a way to get it done.”
There was good and bad news for TCU in the first half. The Horned Frogs led 30-19 after grabbing a 21-9 advantage on the boards, including 10 by Prince. That made up for 15 first-half turnovers. TCU’s Conner and Hunter led with eight points each at halftime.
The Bears failed to take advantage of the TCU miscues and didn’t have a player with more than four points in the first half.
Dropping a hard-fought game against the top seed hurts, but Vonleh remains confident about her team’s chances moving forward.
“I think the biggest takeaway is just that we have what it takes to play against really good teams and beat them,” Vonleh said. “I think there’s this little switch that has to go off in our heads, and I know that we’re gonna work towards that.
“We just have what it takes in our locker room to win against anybody.”
–Field Level Media
