TCU women’s basketball used a huge second half behind Marta Suarez and Olivia Miles to beat Virginia 79-69 and punch its ticket to the Elite Eight.
TCU women’s basketball is headed back to the Elite Eight after turning a tight NCAA Tournament battle into a second-half statement win.
The third-seeded Horned Frogs pulled away from 10-seed Virginia for a 79-69 victory Saturday night in Sacramento, powered by monster performances from Marta Suarez and Olivia Miles.
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For a half, Virginia looked ready to keep its Cinderella run alive.
The Cavaliers played with confidence early, built a first-quarter lead and carried a slim advantage into halftime. But once TCU settled in, the game changed fast.
The turning point came in the third quarter, when the Horned Frogs completely seized control. TCU locked in defensively, sped the game up, and overwhelmed Virginia on both ends of the floor. Suarez erupted during the period and finished with 33 points and 10 rebounds in one of the most dominant performances of the NCAA women’s tournament so far.
Miles stuffed the stat sheet with 28 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists while controlling the tempo from start to finish.
Every time Virginia looked ready to make a push, Miles answered with a key basket, rebound or playmaking sequence. Together, she and Suarez gave TCU more firepower than the Cavaliers could handle.
Virginia star Kymora Johnson still battled, finishing with 18 points, eight assists and six rebounds, while Paris Clark added 20 points.
But TCU’s pressure and execution wore the Cavaliers down as the second half unfolded. Even when Virginia briefly trimmed the deficit late, the Frogs never let the game swing back into doubt.
Now TCU moves one step closer to the program’s biggest prize, returning to the Elite Eight for the second straight season.
The Horned Frogs will now face top-seeded South Carolina on Monday night with a trip to the Final Four on the line. If TCU gets another effort like this from Suarez and Miles, it’ll have a real shot to keep dancing.
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