Sitting down in front of the media following a win over No. 17 West Virginia, TCU women’s basketball coach Mark Campbell let a smile wash over his face.

His top-10 team had blown by the Mountaineers 71-50 and essentially secured a top 4 host seed in next month’s NCAA Tournament. The Horned Frogs are currently a two seed in ESPN’s Bracketology.

Sunday’s win also set a program record for regular season wins (26), Big 12 Conference wins (14), home wins (18), and put TCU one win away from a perfect home record for the entire season. The 5,897 fans in attendance were the most at a women’s basketball game since Schollmaier Arena opened in 2015.

“This whole ride’s been magical,” Campbell said.

Guard Hailey Van Lith paced the Horned Frogs with 26 points, her highest scoring output since a Feb. 2 win over Iowa State. She also dished out four assists and needs 25 more to break TCU’s single season record (185).

“I’ve been playing the same style of basketball, it’s just teams have changed up their scheme on me,” Van Lith said. “To be honest, if teams are going to double me that’s fine. I’m not going to make the game about me and try and score over a double. I have great teammates.”

Sedona Prince tacked on 20 points, eight rebounds and seven blocks.

The press conference started taking many twists and turns as reporters asked questions about the season’s overall trajectory. Campbell praised the coaching staff and players for the way they have all grown throughout the season.

Individually, it’s hard to ignore the ongoing list of accomplishments.

Van Lith has surpassed 2,000 points and dished out more than 500 career assists while Prince and guard Madison Conner hit the 1,000-career point mark.

Conner’s most recent moment of fame came during the team’s win at Arizona State last Wednesday when she reset her own single season record for three pointers made in a season (101 and counting).

“I’ve never seen anyone who can do what she does,” Van Lith said of her teammate’s shooting ability. “The level of difficulty of shots that she hits is one of one. But she’s more than that. She makes great reads.”

Conner dished out a team-high six assists versus West Virginia to go with four points.

Emotions arose while thinking about the upcoming game against Houston on Wednesday, which will serve as senior night for Conner, Prince, Van Lith, Agnes Emma-Nnopu, Deasia Merrill and Una Jovanovic, a group of transfers who have helped transform the program the last two seasons.

That led to a question that many have wondered all season but haven’t had the right moment to ask. Why did Van Lith—-one of the most important pieces in that group—choose TCU for her last season of collegiate basketball.

The simple answer is she felt called to TCU.

“As soon as I came on campus, I knew this was the place for me,” Van Lith said. “My relationship with coach has been a huge blessing. Not just basketball: my faith, my life, how I operate every day, my values. It really has been a part of God’s plan for me to be here this year.”

Van Lith and Campbell shared a story detailing how this marriage came about. The video at the end of this article has the entire dialogue with Van Lith and Campbell giving their perspectives, including a phone call in a car with Van Lith’s dad, waiting patiently for a return call from Van Lith and the decision that set this historical season in motion.

Of course, both talked about the game and TCU’s defensive effort became a highlight. West Virginia shot 31% from the field, including 17% from 3-point range, and trailed 20-9 at the end of the first quarter when Van Lith nailed a three-pointer at the buzzer. The Mountaineers cut the lead to 22-17 with 6:13 left in the second quarter but would only score two more times as TCU took a 39-20 lead into halftime.

“I thought our team showed up ready to hoop today,” Campbell said. “They were locked in on the defensive end. Against that team, that’s as good a defensive effort as we’ve played over the course of 40 minutes all season.”  

The Mountaineers had their moments throughout the game. The nation’s second-best team at forcing turnovers racked up 18 turnovers and outscored TCU 18-15 in the third quarter. But the Horned Frogs never faltered, even when a scoring drought hit.

Now, TCU has one more home game left before a rematch against No. 19 Baylor in Waco on Sunday, March 2 where the Big 12 regular season title will likely be on the line.

The Horned Frogs are more than ready for a pressure-filled ending to the regular season.

“We’re gonna stand the test of time because of the people that we have on the team,” Van Lith said. “And the fact that we’re all willing to sacrifice for this team to win.”

TCU Head Coach Mark Campbell and Guard Haley Van Lith

West Virginia Head Coach Mark Kellogg

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