FORT WORTH, TX — TCU women’s basketball’s 62-59 overtime win over Washington in the second round of the NCAA Tournament wasn’t pretty, but it was resilient and gritty.
The No. 1 seed Horned Frogs were held to 19 points at halftime against the No. 6 seed Huskies and trailed by as many as 10 points in the matchup at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. TCU’s second consecutive trip to the Sweet 16 was on the line, as was the team’s NCAA-leading 43-game home win streak.
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Frustrations started to boil over.
Senior guard Olivia Miles slammed her hand against the stanchion several times after Washington challenged an out-of-bounds call before TCU could inbound the ball with 2:31 remaining in the third quarter. The call was reversed to give the Huskies possession under their basket with a 35-30 lead and Miles quickly picked up a foul while going for a steal at the 2:23 mark. She argued with the referee during Washington’s free throw attempts.
“I was crashing out multiple times. I was angry. I was feeling all the emotions because I didn’t want to go home,” Miles said. “I don’t want to let my team down. And (my teammates), especially Taylor (Bigby), she was in my ears, ‘Just keep creating, keep scoring and keep being aggressive.’ And I listened to them. I trust. It’d be a disservice for me not to be resilient for them.”
Olivia Miles celebrates following the overtime victory over Washington.
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Miles led the charge in the second half and TCU outscored Washington 32-24 in the second half to force overtime. Miles had a look at a game-winning 3-pointer in the final possession of the game, a shot Miles practiced hundreds of times and “thought was going in,” she said.
“I was distraught afterwards,” Miles added. “My teammates had to calm me down a little bit.”
The Horned Frogs quickly composed themselves and recovered to go on a 7-0 run to start overtime. The team credited the rowdy crowd that showed up at Schollmaier Arena on a Sunday evening for a 9 p.m. CT tip off.
“I don’t think we win this game today without the crowd,” Miles added. “We needed the crowd behind us … that was a game changer for us. Marta (Suarez) kept telling us, ‘A few buckets will get the crowd in it, a few buckets will get the crowd in it.’ And she was right. I think when we went on that little run… it was the loudest that I’ve ever heard it in the (Schollmaier Arena).”
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“Just a testament to what (head coach Mark Campbell) built here and his ability to rally the community,” Miles added. “Getting older fans out at 9:00 PM on a Sunday… it’s just a love in this community. So vibrant, just so electric.”
Despite opening the game shooting 2-of-11 from the field, Miles went on to score 14 of her 18 points in TCU’s second-half comeback. Miles finished two assists away from her second consecutive triple-double with 10 rebounds and eight assists.
TCU head coach Mark Campbell called it “the quietest almost triple-double.”
“Could not be more proud of this group,” head coach Mark Campbell said. “That was just a gritty, resilient game. We were down the whole time. And just stayed into fight. We grinded that thing out, got it to overtime. And then we finally got finally broke loose and hit some shots and got a seven point lead. And we were able to get that across the finish line.”
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Clara Silva finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. Taylor Bigby added 15 points in the win.
The Horned Frogs advance to play the winner of No. 2 Iowa or No. 10 Virginia in the Sweet 16 in Sacramento, California, on Saturday, March 28.
Reach USA TODAY National Women’s Sports Reporter Cydney Henderson at chenderson@gannett.com and follow her on X at @CydHenderson.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: TCU completes comeback, escapes with March Madness win over Washington
