By Jackson Posey | Sports Writer
For the first time in 35 years, No. 9 TCU women’s basketball knocked off rival No. 25 Baylor, 80-75, after the Bears’ attempted 22-point comeback fell just short Sunday afternoon at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth.
The win snapped Baylor’s 37-game win streak in the series, which stretched back to Feb. 28, 1990. The Horned Frogs are now 41-14 in two seasons under head coach Mark Campbell, a remarkable rebuilding job for the second-year coach after taking over a team that finished last in the Big 12 in 2021-22 and 2022-23.
Baylor (16-5, 6-2) forced seven turnovers in the game’s first seven minutes — but still trailed 14-4, as TCU’s Sedona Prince-led defense clamped down at all levels of the court. Prince, a 6-foot-7 Oregon transfer, led all players in points, rebounds and blocks. Her defensive size and mobility played a major role in holding the Bears to 5-for-17 shooting in the first quarter (29.4%) and 36.8% overall.
Entering Sunday’s game, the Horned Frogs (20-2, 8-1) ranked in the top 20 nationally in 3-point makes, attempts, and percentage. They continued to make it rain from deep against Baylor, shooting 9-of-15 behind stellar performances by Agnes Emma-Nnopu (3-for-3) and Madison Conner (4-for-8). Aside from graduate guard Sarah Andrews, who tied her season high with five makes, the Bears combined to shoot 3-for-17 from beyond the arc.
By halftime, Andrews’ 13 points — and TCU’s 12 forced turnovers — weren’t enough. The Horned Frogs, then shooting 7-for-10 from deep, led 42-31.
Baylor struggled early in the second half, at one point falling behind by as many as 22 points, before closing the third quarter on a 16-7 run to draw within 13.
Then came the comeback.
Graduate guard Aliyah Matharu pickpocketed Hailey Van Lith and hit a fastbreak layup with under three minutes to play. The shot continued an 8-2 run and slimmed the margin to single digits for the first time in the second half. Conner answered with a layup of her own — moments before the Bears really hit the gas.
Junior forward Bella Fontleroy, falling to her right, converted a scoop shot through contact. Matharu drained a pull-up bank shot over Prince. Then Fontleroy struck again, pulling up over Conner at the right elbow. With a four-point lead, Van Lith made 1-of-2 free throws, giving Vonleh plenty of opportunity to draw it within one score with a long 2-point jumper.
This time, Van Lith hit both free throws, countered by a layup by Matharu. Emma-Nnopu hit 1-of-2 from the charity stripe, but Andrews’ spot-up 3-pointer fell short. That was all she wrote in Fort Worth after Donovyn Hunter hit one last free throw to wrap up the historic victory, 80-75.
The Bears will be back in action against UCF (7-11, 0-8) at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Addition Financial Arena in Orlando.
