BIG 12 CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 7, 2025

Mark Campbell

Hailey Van Lith

Sedona Prince

T-Mobile Center

TCU Horned Frogs

Postgame Press Conference

TCU 69, Colorado 62

THE MODERATOR: We are joined by TCU Head Coach Mark Campbell and student-athletes Hailey Van Lith and Sedona Prince. Coach?

MARK CAMPBELL: First of all, just super proud of this group to grind out a win to open up our conference tournament. In these environments that are one and done, loser goes home, there is a lot of adrenaline and nerves, which are healthy and good.

I think Colorado -- the team that gets to play a couple games early on has an advantage. Obviously, as the game unfolds, we have an advantage just because this is their third game in three days. We didn't play our best game, but all that matters in March is winning.

And I thought Colorado competed and gave us everything they had, and our team did a great job weathering the storm and had a third quarter that allowed us to separate from them.

I'm proud of their execution down the stretch at the end where we had to get stops and big buckets, especially these two right here made just tremendous plays for us in the fourth quarter.

We're excited to have the chance to play in the semifinals tomorrow.

Q. Mark, you guys are coming off this emotional high, you just won the program's first Big 12 title. But now you're down a starter, Colorado is playing great. How much mental toughness did this group show against the adversity today?

MARK CAMPBELL: No question. It's human nature to take your foot off the gas, especially when you get patted on the back all week. At the end of the day, this group is made up of an amazing group of competitors.

It took us a little bit to get going, but their spirit, their fight, their will, it's why we're 29-3, you know? I'm glad to get this one out of the way. My guess tomorrow is you're going to watch a big-time basketball game from the tip-off.

But you guys, this tournament setup, this one and done is so good because at the end of the day it truly prepares you for the NCAA Tournament and that feeling, that stress that comes with that.

I'm sitting next to two -- these two live for that feeling, you know. They live for these moments. They grind the last nine months to be in this situation.

Q. Hailey, how did the competition environment, crowd, everything of what you see in this tournament so far compare to the other conference tournaments you've played in?

HAILEY VAN LITH: You know, SEC is a tough one. They go crazy in that conference. I appreciate all the fans that came out, even the fans from other schools that stayed and were into the game. You can tell there's a lot of basketball minds in this gym.

And I love our fans, obviously. Shout-out to all of them that came out. Our band has been great. Love hearing them in the game.

But, yeah, I've only played one game. So we will see about tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be a really cool environment. But, yeah, I'm looking forward to keep playing.

Q. And for you winning Conference Player of the Year, how do you feel like coming to TCU has allowed you to unlock a new level of your game?

HAILEY VAN LITH: Yeah, I'm a year older. I'm maturer. I took my experience in the previous years and I learned from. I think some people go through things and they forget about it. I never forgot. I remembered what I learned in those low moments of my life.

And also I'm around amazing people who uplift me every day, who encourage me and push me to be a player that I don't even know if I was expecting to be at the beginning of the year.

So I'm just super grateful for my opportunity to play every day and to just get to be around this group of girls and this coaching staff.

Q. Sedona, you were in this locker room last year with the injuries and everything that went on with that team. How do you feel like you've seen this program grow just from -- with everything that happened last year to this year and now heading into the semifinals?

SEDONA PRINCE: I mean, last year was unlike anything I have ever experienced in my life. Just the adversity and that feeling of why is this happening didn't make sense to us and it felt really unfair.

For those who stayed, it's this feeling of grit that we learned, what that means and what it takes to just persevere and compete through so much. It gave us so much mental toughness as well.

You can tell that in the returners. I mean, it's awesome. Returning with this team back to the Big 12 Tournament is so much fun. I feel so much more confident and proud to be on this team.

Q. Sedona, the first half they were shooting at an incredible high percentage, seemed like they weren't missing. Does it show patience? You guys went into the half leading.

SEDONA PRINCE: Yeah, I mean, Masogayo came out and was knocking 'em down. Props to her. We scouted her, and my hope was she would drive and take some of those shots. And she did, and she knocked 'em down. She is a great player. So props to her.

But we had to adjust at halftime and know that this team is going to come out and give us their best shot because this is it. This is it for them. They want to make it to March Madness. We knew they were going to be coming back out ready to compete and fight even more. So we knew that, and we locked in even further.

Q. Hailey, possibly playing three elite games in a row, what's the secret to playing elite in the three straight games?

HAILEY VAN LITH: The secret is taking it one game at a time. I think even before the game, you know, the game before us is on the TV in the locker room, and it's cool and all to watch it and be a fan of the game, but we had to battle all game with Colorado. Like, we had to take care of business.

So, honestly, I was only focused on this game. I know how crazy March can be. And now that we've done the job, now I'm allowing myself to get ready for the semis. And we have to take care of that to even think about playing a third game. So you can't take anything for granted, and just go out and compete at the end of the day.

Q. How big was Donovyn for you guys tonight?

MARK CAMPBELL: Donovyn, she is kind of the unsung hero. She is so humble, unassuming. Most nights she guards the other team's best offensive player.

Donovyn has come on over the last six, seven games. She is so versatile. She is such a great competitor. And she is okay with the spotlight that Hailey and Sedona and Madison have. Donovyn shows up every day ready to work and do whatever it takes to win. I thought she was awesome today.

Q. Coach, Sedona picked up her third foul beginning of the third quarter, still continued to be aggressive. What was your message to her?

MARK CAMPBELL: Sedona, we're going to ride her until the wheels fall off. She ended up fouling out with six seconds left. But these two, they played all year with four fouls. I don't worry about foul trouble when you have old veterans. They have been in college basketball a long time. They've played in a lot of big games. And at the end of the day, I trust them at the highest level.

And both of them -- Sedona is so unique as a post, but her IQ, her understanding is incredible. It's what makes her really special. We're going to go as far as these two take us, and foul trouble is the least -- I'm not sweating.

But Sedona had a great overall game, and I think we're -- this is our 32nd game, right? And she has only been in foul trouble really in two games all year.

Q. Hailey, seemed like Colorado wanted to be more physical with you. When you look at film among the other teams that you have played in the Big 12, do you feel like they've been more physical with you?

HAILEY VAN LITH: Every team is physical with me. The amount of times that I'm bleeding in the game is actually crazy. Shout-out to my athletic trainer because I am bleeding every time there is a timeout. But you know what? It's respect. I find myself wanting to complain about it sometimes, but at the end of the day for a team to have to rough me up to get in my head, it's a sign of respect.

I'm willing to embrace it. And, you know, on the days that I'm not, I usually struggle. So it's up to me to have the right mentality. And I'm a physical girl, too. I'll give it right back on the other end. That's what you love about basketball. It's all right.

Q. Hailey, Sedona, Coach Campbell has talked about you guys being built for March and this moment. This is maybe the first time in your collegiate careers where you have been the fulcrum of expectation. How do you welcome that pressure, and how do you feel so far that you're responding to it?

HAILEY VAN LITH: Can I ask what the definition of fulcrum is? (Laughter.)

Q. Now I have to define it, being the point people. To go as far as you two will go.

HAILEY VAN LITH: Yeah, I mean, a lot of people want to be in the spotlight, but not a lot of people are willing to take responsibility when things don't go right and you're in the spotlight.

I think me and Sedona are a great combination where we are servant leaders. At the end of the day, we're willing to uplift our teammates, if that means that we take less shots and our team wins.

So that's what it means at the end of the day. It's not necessarily that we have to go out and drop 30 every night, but we have to go out and make sure our team wins. And whatever that role may be, I'm very confident that me and Sedona are willing to accomplish that.

SEDONA PRINCE: Yeah, for sure. You know, this has been the biggest spot I've ever had on the team. And last year I was starting to have it, but obviously the finger broke. So it's new for me.

And being alongside a leader like Hailey, she has really just helped me and guided me through this, of what high-level leadership is, how to help a team mentally. It's not just on the court of what we have been working at. And that's just an outcome of how hard we've been working and what we put in every day and how we lift each over up and how we love each other off the court as well.

It's such an amazing opportunity to play with my two right hands. So it's awesome. But, yeah, it's a big acceptance of responsibility, right? It takes a lot. It's a lot of work mentally, physically. And if you're willing to do it and step up and take that role for your team, then, yeah, it's incredible.

Q. Sedona, there was a moment in the second quarter where Hailey gets the steal, she's firing up the bench, and I think she hit back-to-back threes and found you for a bucket. How big was that run, and how do you feed off the emotion she brings to the game?

SEDONA PRINCE: Oh, yeah, man, playing with Hailey is a blast. We have so much energy, we compete. Competing is so much fun for us. We have been waiting for this for years. And competing together and at this high level of when we get those kind of buckets or go on those runs and really flex on people, it's just this feeling that you're like: Yeah, let's go. This is us. This is what we've been waiting for.

So playing with her is a blast. We chest bump probably eight or nine times a game, and with the rest of the girls, too. That's what we love to do; high energy, making amazing plays for each other and having a blast with the game we love the most.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you so much.