South Carolina rolls past Lady Longhorns

Published 6:35 pm Sunday, March 9, 2025

Field Level Media

Chloe Kitts had 15 points and nine rebounds and No. 5 South Carolina completed its dominant run through the Southeastern Conference tournament with a 64-45 victory over No. 1 Texas in the championship game Sunday afternoon in Greenville, S.C.

Tessa Johnson added 14 points and Sonia Feagin and Joyce Edwards scored 11 each for the top-seeded Gamecocks (30-3), who won their previous two games in the tournament by 21 and 18 points, respectively, and never trailed Sunday.

South Carolina won for the second time in three meetings this season against the No. 2 seed Longhorns (31-3), who had their 15-game winning streak snapped. The Gamecocks claimed their third consecutive SEC tournament title and fifth in six seasons while making a record sixth consecutive title game appearance.

For Texas, Taylor Jones had 14 points and eight rebounds and Rori Harmon scored 14, but SEC player of the year Madison Booker had just three points through three quarters before finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Texas didn’t score until nearly 3 1/2 minutes had elapsed and five Gamecocks contributed to a 12-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. Booker, who scored 18 of her 25 points in the first half of a semifinal win against LSU, missed all four of her shots and went scoreless in the first period.

South Carolina used balanced scoring and dominant defense to take command in the second quarter. Johnson scored five points, Kitts and MiLaysia Fulwiley scored three each and Feagin and Edwards had two each during a 15-0 run to start the period, producing a 17-point lead. The Longhorns missed their first eight shots and turned the ball over four times before Harmon, who left the game briefly after being hit in the face, made a jumper for her team’s first points with 3:29 left in the period.

Booker made a jumper with 1:51 left for her only points of the half, but the Gamecocks wound up with a 21-6 scoring edge in the quarter and a 33-16 halftime lead. They maintained a comfortable lead throughout the second half.

TCU 64, BAYLOR 59: Big 12 Player of the Year Hailey Van Lith’s clutch basket late lifted TCU to the program’s first Big 12 Tournament championship in a 64-59 win over Baylor in Kansas City Sunday.

The Horned Frogs completed the 3-0 sweep of the rival Bears a week after capturing the program’s first regular season title by defeating Baylor in Waco on March 2.

Like the first two matchups, TCU led most of the way until a frantic fourth quarter. Despite leading by as many as 11 in the second half, TCU only led 59-57 with under 60 seconds remaining.

That’s when Van Lith stepped up as she slashed to the lane going to her left and made a layup with 48 seconds remaining. Even after Van Lith’s bucket, TCU had to survive a last second shot from Baylor after Madison Conner split two free throw attempts with under 10 seconds remaining

Leading 62-59, the Horned Frogs got exactly what they wanted on defense as they forced Baylor center Aaronette Vonleh to attempt the game-tying 3-pointer which fell short. Agnes Emma-Nnopu hit the game clinching free throws with two seconds remaining to secure the tournament championship.

Van Lith finished with 20 points while Sedona Prince had 12 points and 14 rebounds. Conner and Donovyn Hunter had 11 each.

Van Lith was voted Most Outstanding Player in the tournament after a terrific second half performance where she scored 16 points. Van Lith used Baylor’s aggressive defense to her advantage as she got to the free throw line eight times as the Bears tried to guard her physically to no avail.

Emma-Nnopu was another Horned Frog that came up clutch as she made a number of key plays in the final two minutes. Emma-Nnopu stole extra possessions for TCU when she grabbed an offensive rebound on a missed shot and then a few seconds later she ripped away the ball from Vonleh to help TCU run off more time on the clock.

Emma-Nnopu also came up with the stop of the game when she blocked a shot by Jada Walker. Emma-Nnopu finished with six points and five rebounds, but the stat sheet doesn’t paint the full picture of her impact.

Now the Horned Frogs will await to see what seed they earn in the NCAA Tournament, which will be the program’s first appearance since 2009-10.