TCU guards Madison Conner (3) and Donovyn Hunter (4) double team Fairleigh Dickinson forward Bella Toomey (3) in the first half of the first round of the Women’s NCAA Championships Tournament game between TCU and Fairleigh Dickinson at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth last week. (Chris Torres/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/TNS)

FORT WORTH — No. 2 seed TCU pulled away in the second half from No. 15 seed Fairleigh Dickinson, 73-51, on Friday in the first round of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament at Schollmaier Arena.

Making their first appearance in the tournament since 2010, the Horned Frogs picked up the program’s first tournament win since 2006 behind 23 points from Madison Conner and 16 points and 10 rebounds by Sedona Prince.

“Just pumped to get that first one behind us,” head coach Mark Campbell said. “March Madness, it can be cruel and you have to find a way to survive and advance. This group did that today.”

TCU (32-3) had to overcome an early 17-14 deficit after the first quarter as the Knights took advantage of foul trouble to Prince and Donovyn Hunter along with some rust by the Horned Frogs, who haven’t played since March 9.

“You have a two week break from when you’re in a rhythm for three months straight,” Campbell said. “And then all of a sudden you’re thrust into a win or go home situation. I think there was a lot of adrenaline and nerves in the first half, which is healthy and good, but it kind of impacted us.”

The Horned Frogs retook control of the game in the second by outscoring FDU 21-10 in the period to take a 35-27 halftime lead. Conner led the charge with 10 points in the second quarter as she picked up the scoring load with Hailey Van Lith being held scoreless in the period.

“I was just taking what they were giving me,” Conner said. “I was forcing some shots early, but I kind of settled into rhythm in the second quarter. I think my team did a good job of just getting our rhythm back, we’ve been off for awhile and I feel like that was that was going on in the first quarter.

“The second quarter I was able to settle down and get some shots I can knock down.”

Her 23 points were the second most points by a Horned Frog in a NCAA Tournament game.

The decisive run came in the third quarter keyed by Prince as she scored back-to-back buckets in the paint and had multiple blocks in the quarter. Conner knocked down two more 3s in the quarter as TCU took a 52-37 lead into the fourth that wasn’t challenged.

The Horned Frogs outscored FDU 38-24 in the second half and held the Knights to just 1-of-11 shooting from the 3-point line.

“In the second half I thought the group played really good,” Campbell said. “The group got into a rhythm on both sides of the court, I thought we were great defensively. Our biggest key against these guys was to defend the 3-point line and this team really has the ability to shoot it. That’s an area we’ve worked on during the home stretch of the season, defending the 3-point line more efficiently.”

FDU, the Northeast Conference champions, finished the season with a 29-4 record.

The Horned Frogs will face the winner of No. 7 seed Louisville and No. 10 seed Nebraska on Sunday for a chance to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.