For the second straight year, the TCU Horned Frogs advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament after defeating Virginia on Saturday night.
The Horned Frogs (32-5) beat the Cavaliers (22-12), 79-69, in their Sweet 16 matchup in Sacramento Calif., as forward Marta Suarez had a huge game for TCU. She finished with 33 points and 10 rebounds as she played all 40 minutes for the Horned Frogs.
The Horned Frogs will play the No. 1 seed in Sacramento Region 4, the South Carolina Gamecocks, on Monday for the right to play in the Women’s Final Four. The Horned Frogs lost to Texas in the Elite Eight last year. TCU has never played in the Women’s Final Four in program history.
The Horned Frogs and the Cavaliers played a back and forth first half, as Virginia went into the locker room with a 36-35 lead. Then, TCU took over with an incredible third quarter in which the Horned Frogs outscore the Cavaliers, 24-11.
Suarez was a big piece of the puzzle. She scored 12 points in the third quarter, The forward scored 31 of her 33 points in the first 30 minutes of the game, which set TCU up with a big lead that it was able to get to the final buzzer. She had a double-double with 10 rebounds, along with three assists and a steal.
Horned Frogs guard Olivia Miles had a fantastic game, as she scored 28 points, dished out eight assists and had 10 rebounds as she played all 40 minutes of the contest. Donovyn Hunter also played all 40 minutes but didn’t score a single point.
Virginia’s Paris Clark led the Cavaliers with 20 points. Kymora Johnson also added 18 points. She was the only Virginia player to play 40 minutes.
TCU is not only trying to make program history to reach the Final Four. But the Horned Frogs are trying to become the first Big 12 team to reach the Final Four since Baylor win the national championship in 2019. Arizona reached the national championship game in 2021 but was not a member of the Big 12 at the time.
