Wins over Baylor fuels Horned Frogs

Published 5:15 pm Friday, March 28, 2025

The old saying in sports is that it’s hard to beat a good team twice.

TCU will have its hands full in its rematch with Notre Dame in the Sweet Sixteen on Saturday, but if there’s a team capable of beating a quality team like the Fighting Irish twice it’s the Horned Frogs.

TCU already pulled off the feat once this year by going 3-0 against rival Baylor. The Bears aren’t as good as Notre Dame, but were still a top-25 team most of the year.

The Horned Frogs beat the Bears in Fort Worth, Waco and Kansas City, Mo., in the Big 12 Tournament with each matchups holding major historical significance. The rematch against Notre Dame is now the biggest game in program history and TCU is hopeful the lessons from the games against the Bears will pay off against Notre Dame.

“Those Baylor games were high stakes, (two) of them had championships on the line,” head coach Mark Campbell said Friday. “One was for a league title, one was for a conference tournament championship. They were two different situations, winner take all and this group has delivered in those moments all throughout the season.

“Tomorrow’s another one of those big opportunities.”

TCU will face Notre Dame at noon Saturday on ABC.

The Horned Frogs defeated Notre Dame 76-68 on a neutral court in the Cayman Islands on Nov. 29. Both teams have evolved a lot since that late November showdown.

The Fighting Irish will have two post players, Maddy Westbeld and Liza Karlen, available after both missed the first matchup.

Meanwhile, the Horned Frogs have a new starting lineup that features Donovyn Hunter and Agnes Emma-Nnopu alongside Hailey Van Lith, Sedona Prince and Madison Conner. The Horned Frogs are also a better defensive team that has improved its chemistry.

The lineup changes and coaching adjustments by Campbell and Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey will be crucial to determining the outcome. But oftentimes these rematches come down to a battle of wills and Van Lith is confident TCU will be ready.

“I think it’s hard to beat teams multiple times in a season when you have a tendency to be complacent,” Van Lith said. “This team we don’t really have an issue with that. We’re fine with it being a dogfight every game, we don’t hope that we win by 20, we don’t hope that they miss every shot.

“We’re okay with it being a close game, we know it’s going to be a fight and we’re ready to fight. I feel very confident in our mindset.”

The matchups with the Bears were mostly grimy, physical affairs that tested TCU’s mental and physical toughness. The Horned Frogs endured both tests and emerged as Big 12 champions.

That unique experience could give TCU an edge along with the size of Prince. Prince dominated in the first game with 20 points, 20 rebounds and eight blocks.

For most players that would be the best game of their career, but Prince actually felt like she didn’t play up to her standards in the first game.

“It was crazy when they told me I had 20-20-8 after the game because I didn’t believe it,” Prince said. “I felt like I played poorly. I took a lot of shots I shouldn’t haven taken, some fadeaways and shied away from contact.

“It’s amazing that’s my baseline, I’ve gotten so much better and have grown so much since early in the season. I’m going to go out and fight for my team.”