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GoFrogs: No. 9 TCU Takes Down Iowa State behind 28 Points from Van Lith

TopFrog

Lifelong Frog

GoFrogs: No. 9 TCU Takes Down Iowa State behind 28 Points from Van Lith
AMES, Iowa – No. 9 TCU went wire-to-wire in one of the toughest environments in college basketball and tacked another signature win onto its resume, downing Iowa State 82-69 on Sunday at Hilton Coliseum.

The Horned Frogs outscored the Cyclones 45-29 in the second half to solidify their program record third win over a preseason AP Top 10 team in 2024-25.

TCU drilled 7-13 attempts from behind the arc out of the intermission and shot 52 percent (31-60) from the field for the game.

Hailey Van Lith paired a season-high 28 points with eight assists and five rebounds. The Wooden Award candidate was one of four Frogs to score in double figures.

Taylor Bigby scored a season-best 19 – two shy of her career high – buoyed by a 5-6 clip from downtown. She put 10 points on the board in the first quarter, helping TCU race out to an 18-5 lead less than six minutes into the game.

Backcourt mates Madison Conner and Donovyn Hunter chipped in 10 points apiece.

TCU also benefitted from a game-high eight rebounds across 18 minutes from Deasia Merrill.

The win kept TCU (21-2, 9-1) atop the Big 12 standings ahead of a showdown vs. conference co-leader Kansas State on Wednesday in Manhattan.

TCU overcame a combined 60 points from Iowa State's frontcourt duo of Audi Crooks and Addy Brown, with Crooks finishing with a game-high 31. The remainder of the Cyclones rotation attempted just nine field goals.

The Horned Frogs also saw star center Sedona Prince plagued with foul trouble and held to no points for the first time in her career. Prince was limited to 19 minutes and picked up her fifth foul with 6:30 remaining.

Ultimately, hot shooting and a cast of new contributors carried TCU across the finish line.

TCU scored on its first five possessions and sprinted to a 13-2 head start. Bigby, who entered the game averaging 7.4 points per game, sandwiched her first pair of 3-pointers around a deep ball from Van Lith. Agnes Emma-Nnopu sniped the Cyclones (15-9, 6-5 Big 12) from the left baseline to punctuate TCU's early 13-point edge.

The Frogs began the game 8-12 from the field and took an 8-1 edge on the glass into the first media timeout. Bigby threaded a left hand layup through two defenders with 54 seconds remaining in the frame, putting her in double figures and maintaining a double-digit TCU lead at 24-14.

Iowa State bridged a 17-4 run between the first and second quarters to cut TCU's lead down to a single possession, 26-24, at the 6:27 mark of the period.

With Prince out of commission, TCU turned to Merrill to anchor the paint and battle Crooks, who scored 11 in the second quarter. Merrill and company limited the 6-5 center to two points over the final five minutes of the first half.

Bigby seemingly had an answer from distance every time the Cyclones threatened.

Her third 3-pointer of the half quelled the Cyclone crowd and restored a multi-possession lead at 36-29.

Iowa State to use a buzzer-beater behind the arc soon thereafter to get within a point of the Frogs, 37-36, entering the locker room. Bigby drained back-to-back 3-pointers with TCU nursing a two-point lead two minutes into the second half that put the Frogs back in front by seven.

Bigby's hot hand parlayed into 3-pointers from Aaliyah Roberson and Hunter that stretched the lead to 57-46 with 3:55 to go in the third. Hunter spun a teardrop through the net on TCU's final possession, staking the Frogs to a 62-53 edge entering the final frame.

TCU shot 10-16 (63 percent) on its way to 25 points, its most scored in the third quarter in a conference game. Van Lith accounted for nine.

Prince's fifth foul sent Crooks to the line for a pair of free throws that whittled TCU's advantage down to 67-63. This time, it was Hunter's turn to come up with a clutch bucket. The sophomore followed a driving layup from Van Lith with a 3-pointer from the far-left baseline that lifted TCU to a 72-63 cushion with 5:17 to play.

Merrill pulled down five rebounds in the fourth in Prince's absence. She converted consecutive paint touches at the 2:30 mark and maintained TCU's nine-point lead. Emma-Nnopu drilled a dagger three off a Cyclone turnover on the ensuing possession.

TCU outrebounded Iowa State 32-26. Merrill was one of four Frogs to collect at least five boards.

The Horned Frogs benefitted from 19 bench points – their second-most in Big 12 action – and committed just six turnovers.

Team Notes
  • TCU picked up its first win over Iowa State in five seasons, dating back to an 82-72 home victory over the Cyclones on Feb. 16, 2020.
  • The Horned Frogs improved to 11-14 all-time opposite Iowa State and 11-12 under the Big 12 banner.
  • TCU has now won six of its last eight Big 12 road games, a streak that began with a 79-72 triumph over Cincinnati on Feb. 17, 2024.
  • Since the road win vs. the Bearcats, TCU has claimed 13 of its last 15 conference games.
  • TCU scored at least 80 points for the third straight game, seventh time in 10 conference tilts and 13th game this season.
  • TCU has now claimed nine-or-more Big 12 victories for the fifth time in 13 seasons of membership.
  • TCU improved 5-2 opposite teams featured in the top 40 of the NCAA NET rankings.
  • The Horned Frogs are now within four victories of matching their single-season record for total wins (25).
  • TCU has now led at halftime in all 10 of its conference games and in 21 of 23 contests.
  • The Horned Frogs continue to lead the Big 12 in scoring average in conference road games (76.2 ppg).
  • TCU had four players score in double figures for the second consecutive game and ninth time this season.
  • The Horned Frogs were whistled for 17 fouls – including 10 in the first half – compared to eight for the Cyclones.
  • TCU's six turnovers were its fewest in a Big 12 game this season.
  • TCU led for 39:49 in the win. The Horned Frogs have now trailed for just 13:25 combined across five Big 12 road games.
Individual Notes
  • Van Lith's 28 points came six shy of matching her career high.
  • Van Lith dished out eight assists against just one turnover, marking the 11th time this season she has finished with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.5 or better.
  • Van Lith swelled her season assists tally to 135. She is now 50 assists shy of becoming TCU's single-season record holder.
  • Van Lith is now averaging 20.6 points per game over her last seven outings.
  • Van Lith shot 11-21 from the field. The Horned Frogs are now 11-0 when Van Lith converts at least 50 percent of her field goal attempts and scores in double figures.
  • Prince, Van Lith and Conner entered Sunday's tilt averaging 54.5 points per game but were limited to 38, their second-lowest combined scoring output across 23 contests.
  • Bigby scored in double figures for the 15th time in her career and eighth game in a TCU jersey.
  • Bigby's five 3-pointers matched her career high.
  • Hunter reached double figures for the first time on the road this season.
  • In addition to rebounds, Merrill set season highs in minutes (18) and blocks (two).
 

hometown frog

Active Member
Yeah, strange to see Prince with no points. Maybe it was ISU's game plan to take her out of the game and force TCU to win without her.
When other teams physically work Sedona on both ends of the court, she has a tendency to struggle to stay in games. I figured Crooks would give her fits, but I incorrectly thought Sedonas ball skills and lateral movement would be a problem for them when we had the ball.

as the post above stated, it was great to see this team step up and win a tough road game w Sedona basically not playing. For a team that has a perception of little depth on the bench that was nice to see. And Merrill coming in and winning matchups several times down the floor was really really awesome. She was the MVP to me. If she doesn’t come in and at least hold ground I think we struggle to stay ahead of ISU.
 

JogginFrog

Active Member
With Crooks throwing elbows and hips, I also wouldn't be surprised if Campbell was being intentionally cautious with Sedona to avoid injury, especially with a lead. But it also makes me wonder if she might already be nursing something. With the big game at KSU upcoming, I wouldn't think we'd hear anything until later in the week, but I hope it was just an anomaly.

Such an important game to see others step up. I've been harder on HVL than most, but this was just the kind of game where her ability to create was needed--and she came through with a huge combo of scoring/passing/ball-handling.
 
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