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No. 12 TCU women’s basketball overcame a 12-point fourth quarter deficit to knock off Iowa State 80-73 Sunday at Schollmaier Arena.
“That was a heavyweight fight, that’s an incredible basketball team and an incredible basketball game,” TCU coach Mark Campbell said. “That had a Sweet Sixteen vibe and feel to it. I could not be more proud of our group for battling and being resilient and staying in the fight and giving our team a chance in the fourth quarter.”
It was the 41st straight victory at home for the Horned Frogs, but the lengthy winning streak was in jeopardy deep into the fourth quarter.
TCU (25-4, 13-3) trailed for most of the game as Iowa State’s defense gave guards Olivia Miles and Donovyn Hunter fits, leading to the Cyclones (21-7, 9-7) being up 66-53 with 7:35 remaining in the game. However, despite their struggles the Horned Frogs still had a chance to preserve the winning streak as they only trailed 68-62 with 4:22 remaining.
Miles finally started to come alive in the fourth with six straight points and an assist to Taylor Bigby on a 3-pointer that cut Iowa State’s lead to 70-69 with 2:44 remaining.
With the game hanging in the balance, Miles put the Horned Frogs on her back and went on a 7-0 run. Leading 73-70, Miles delivered the dagger with a nice dribble and then a pull-up jumper with 54 seconds remaining.
Miles scored 17 points in the fourth as she recorded a triple-double with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
“It was just not caring, not wanting to lose,” Miles said of her approach in the fourth. “There’s a will you have to bring, who wants it more? Marta (Suarez) ignited me, and I was just like ‘F it’ let me do it for her, let me do it for our team. It was the same looks I was getting all night, and they were just falling.”
The victory also moves the Horned Frogs closer to a regular season Big 12 title as TCU sits a full game ahead of West Virginia (22-6, 12-4) and Baylor (23-6, 12-4) in the league standings with just two games remaining.
TCU will travel to face Cincinnati at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Point guard battle
Miles got off to an extremely slow start against the Cyclones as she went 1-of-9 in the first half and missed her first six shots. Some of that was unlucky bounces as she had multiple shots rim in and out, but most of the credit for her slow start has to go to Iowa State’s Jada Williams.
A pesky defender and underrated playmaker, Williams made Miles work to get to her spots while also orchestrating an offense that shot nearly 50% in the first half. Williams was on a triple-double pace at halftime with nine points, six assists and five rebounds. And she hit an important 3-pointer to stave off a TCU run and help the Cyclones take a 40-34 lead at the half.
Neither point guard played well in the third, but they both picked up their games in the fourth. Williams showed off her impressive shot making with multiple pull-up jumpers over defenders while Miles got downhill to get TCU back in the game. Williams struggled to stay in front of Miles when it mattered most as Miles showed why she’ll likely be an All-American once again.
Williams scored 15 points and added 11 assists but only shot 6-of-23 from the field.
A massive challenge
TCU’s primary task was finding a way to slow down the nation’s leading scorer Iowa State center Audi Crooks. A viral sensation, Crooks has become a popular name in college basketball due to her unique play style. Listed at 6-foot-3 ponds, Crooks hovers around 300 pounds and uses that size to her advantage in the post.
Crooks bullied TCU’s 6-7 frontline of Clara Silva and Kennedy Basham early as she scored eight points in the first quarter while drawing two fouls on Silva. Crooks finished with 12 in the first half as the Cyclones led by as many as 13 at one point. Her size makes her an obvious mismatch, but Crooks also showed underrated agility with how quick her shot releases were. That helped her avoid TCU’s shot-blocking early on.
Crooks also was a surprise defensively as Iowa State kept her in the lane and her size made it difficult for TCU to slash to the basket. But in the fourth, the Horned Frogs finally opted to go right at Crooks with Miles having multiple drives finishing over Crooks. Basham also began to hold her own in the fourth with multiple stops and also drawing Crooks’ fourth foul with less than three minutes remaining.
Crooks fouled out with 1:35 remaining as she finished with 22 points and six rebounds.
“It was just about making every shot as tough as possible for her,” Basham said. “She’s a great player, and she’s going to score so it was just about making it as hard as possible and then getting her tired. You just got to push her out as far as you can before she gets position.”
Suarez shows up
While Miles and Hunter were struggling to find their shots in the first three quarters, starting forward Marta Suarez was the one keeping TCU in the game. The two experienced guards were a combined 3-of-23 entering the fourth quarter as the Horned Frogs trailed 58-49.
Suarez was the only reason the game was that close as she did her best to will the comeback attempt. Suarez was the only Horned Frog that could consistently create her own shot in the half-court as she used bully ball to get to the rim and also crashed the glass for multiple put-back opportunities.
Suarez’s early work was rewarded in the fourth as Miles finally came alive and took over the scoring load. Suarez recorded a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds while also showing up on the defensive end. The comeback wouldn’t have been possible without Suarez’s early contributions.
Post game Suarez said the crowd of over 5,300 fans inspired her to keep pushing the Horned Frogs despite the deficit.
“Today, the way the people showed up for us the Scholl looked amazing,” Suarez said. “It was our sixth player. One of the reasons I was able to keep going is because I knew once we had a little momentum all those people were going to jump with us. Iowa State could not guard that.
“I was just excited to keep going and for it to happen and I knew it was going to happen because we’re that type of team. We’re relentless.”
This story was originally published February 22, 2026 at 5:22 PM.
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Steven Johnson
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