BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Madison Booker scored 18 points and No. 1 seed Texas used its stifling defence to reach the Final Four of the women’s NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2003, beating well-travelled point guard Hailey Van Lith and second-seeded TCU 58-47 on Monday night.
The Longhorns (35-3) will face defending champion South Carolina on Friday night in Tampa, Florida, for a spot in the national title game.
Texas won a regional final for the first time in four tries under coach Vic Schaefer, who previously made two Final Four trips with Mississippi State. The Longhorns’ 35 wins are one more than its only national title-winning squad had in 1986 under Jody Conradt, who was in the stands Monday night.
Van Lith scored 17 points in her collegiate finale for TCU (34-4), but Texas neutralized the Horned Frogs’ star centre, Sedona Prince, who had four points and nine rebounds before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
TCU had never made it past the second round of March Madness, but Van Lith helped the Horned Frogs make program history while taking her third school to the Elite Eight.
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