Yesterday in Sacramento, TCU's women's basketball team punched its ticket to the Elite Eight with a 79-69 win over Virginia, riding a career night from Marta Suárez and a do-it-all show from Olivia Miles. The Horned Frogs now get No. 1 South Carolina tomorrow with a Final Four berth on the line, turning an already big March into another high-stakes week for Fort Worth's program. The victory locks in back-to-back deep NCAA runs and keeps TCU firmly planted in the national March spotlight.
According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Suárez poured in a career-high 33 points while Miles added 28, the duo combining for 61 of TCU's 79 points to power past the Cavaliers. That one-two punch turned a tight first half into a far more comfortable second-half cushion for the Horned Frogs.
TCU entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed and Virginia as the No. 10 in the Sacramento regional, per Sporting News. The Elite Eight schedule has the South Carolina matchup set for 9 p.m. ET (8 p.m. CT) Monday, with the winner headed to Phoenix for the Final Four.
TCU flipped the script after trailing by one at halftime, ripping off an 11-0 run to open the third quarter. Suárez scored 13 in that period and Miles handed out six assists to help break the game open, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. On the other end, Donovyn Hunter's defensive work on Kymora Johnson helped blunt Virginia's late push and kept the Frogs in control down the stretch.
How the Rematch Shapes Up
Monday's showdown is an immediate rematch with a very familiar heavyweight. South Carolina beat TCU 85-52 at Dickies Arena last season, as chronicled by ESPN/AP, and the Gamecocks arrive as the top seed in the region. This time, though, TCU's offense looks different, with Suárez stretching the floor and Miles controlling tempo, raising real questions about how South Carolina will adjust on both ends.
What to Watch Monday
All eyes will be on whether Suárez can keep shooting over the Gamecock wings and whether Miles can keep manufacturing clean looks in transition and in half-court sets. TCU's depth and defensive rebounding figure to matter in a game where every possession feels magnified. For Fort Worth fans, the storyline is starting to sound familiar: can this Horned Frogs team finally finish the job and flip last season's script against South Carolina?
