BIG 12 CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 8, 2025

Mark Campbell

Hailey Van Lith

Sedona Prince

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TCU Horned Frogs

Postgame Press Conference

TCU 71, West Virginia 65

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

MARK CAMPBELL: That was an awesome college basketball game, and two really good teams. I told my team it felt like a Sweet 16 match-up on a neutral court.

West Virginia, glad we don't have to play them again, and excited to root for them for now when March Madness rolls around. West Virginia deserves credit in the third quarter. They came out and put us on our heels, but these guys bounced back in the fourth quarter, which is what they've done all year.

All year they've found a way to close games out. I think we're now the second team in college basketball that hit the 30-win mark, which is just an incredible accomplishment for a group that half of the team is new.

It starts with these two. I want to talk about these two just for a second. They're two of the biggest names in college basketball, and the only reason this thing is working is because they're just selfless. They have truly no ego. All they care about is winning and figuring out what the team needs.

So it's just been incredible to be on this journey with these two. It's why we got a chance to play for a title tomorrow, and that's why we're 30-3.

Q. Hailey, I remember after the Kansas State game you challenged the team that you need to be more consistent with hand and physicality. How much has this team grown in terms of handling the full-court press and that type of stuff?

HAILEY VAN LITH: We have grown so much in that area, and I'm grateful for those opportunities that showed us we needed to get better and all the teams that have pressed us, pressured us and gave us practice. Because in this moment we needed it, and we were able to deliver.

I'm super, super proud of Donovyn Hunter, man. She came so far with that. She handled a lot of the pressure to help give me a break and brought it up a ton. She is probably the biggest part in that, so I couldn't be more proud of her.

Q. Coach, the pressure, West Virginia caused you guys 12 turnovers, they scored off all those. What makes them so tough? Is it their scrappiness? Their toughness?

MARK CAMPBELL: They're so well coached. That staff does a phenomenal job. And they've been doing this system and style of play all year. To be honest, 12 turnovers is low. If we have 12 turnovers every game, I'll take that.

Fortunately, we did an amazing job taking care of the ball. They just make you uncomfortable. They do a great job switching between their man and match-up. And those two guards, they're as good a backcourt as anybody both on the offensive side and defensive side of the ball. During the game it didn't feel like we only had 12 turnovers. But I'm proud of the group and how they handled it.

Q. Hailey, seemed like you made a point to get to the hoop and draw fouls. Was that a point of emphasis for you today?

HAILEY VAN LITH: Yeah, they play a really good match-up zone, and in that match-up zone they're so aggressive that the middle of the key was going to be wide open. It's my job to do that. That's my role on the team, is to get paint touches and create out of the paint.

That's what I was going to do, and it was working, so I kept going to it. And my teammates were able to get me the ball in spots where I was able to do that.

There's a lot of factors that play into that, but at the end of the day, that was the read. So I was just going to keep taking it and be aggressive.

I wasn't able to get to the point a lot in yesterday's game because Colorado was so packed in, and the read was kicking out. So I kicked out, and today I had the opportunity to drive and get some looks, and that's what I did.

Q. Sedona, you guys haven't played back-to-back games since November, and you and Hailey played a lot of minutes since then. How do you gear up for Game 3 tomorrow?

SEDONA PRINCE: Yeah, this is something new for me, for sure, but it's about taking care of your bodies. That's the most important part. Everyone is beat up, tired, and everyone is going to be playing three games in a row.

But the truth is, at the end, the championship game is about mental toughness and who wants it more. Everybody is hurting, everybody is sore, everybody can make excuses. But the team that's going to go out there and want it and fight for it, no matter what they feel, is going to be the one to win it.

Q. Hailey and Sedona, I want to ask about -- I know Mark said you guys don't want to face West Virginia again, but you've got Baylor, OSU next. These are two teams that, one, you know, you lost on the road to and then also three-point victories with Baylor. What do you look at with those two opponents coming up?

HAILEY VAN LITH: They're very different styles of play. I would say Baylor is a little similar to West Virginia and Oklahoma State is similar to Colorado. So actually the first two games we played have prepped us for either team that we could face tomorrow.

So I feel confident that we will be able to handle either style of play. But it doesn't matter who is on the other side, you guys, on a championship on the third day of the tournament, for us. Some people it might be more days. But third day for us, it's about wanting to compete and wanting to be in that opportunity and not being scared.

No matter who it is, we're going to have the same mentality, and that's to be the aggressor.

Q. Sedona, since you didn't answer that last one, obviously you were on the team last year, and now this team is competing for a Big 12 championship for the first time. What is that like from those team try-outs last year to this year competing for a championship?

SEDONA PRINCE: Yeah, it's kinda crazy. It's amazing, a blessing. Genuinely, all glory to God. God put together this team, and last year we didn't know why we were going through all those trials. But it's starting to make sense now.

Just so thankful for these girls, for Hailey coming and giving this team a chance. To hear you are having walk-on try-outs is insane, but she trusted Mark and saw us, and she believed that God was pulling her to this school for a reason. It's amazing, it's incredible, it's been a lot of hard work and patience, but it's an incredible feeling.

Q. Hailey, Madison missed two threes, but you guys kept feeding her. How much confidence do you have in her?

HAILEY VAN LITH: How much confidence do I have in her? I don't care if she is at half-court. If nobody is guarding her? Shoot it, Madison. No other shooter like her in the country. I literally threw it to her, and I was like, Shoot it. I was open, and I wanted her to shoot it because that's what she does.

I respect people like that so much that have that inner confidence to let it fly. It was an important shot. It wasn't like we were up a ton. Like, that shot mattered. If you've got the confidence to shoot it, by all means I have 100% trust and faith in you.

I couldn't be more happy for her. I don't remember the last time she got 10 attempts up. So hopefully we can keep her in a rhythm and she'll have a great game tomorrow.

Q. Coach, last week after the Baylor win, you said this team had nothing to improve but they had a chip on their shoulder. Players played with a lot of emotion today. There is a championship on the line, but they have nothing left to prove when it comes to March Madness.

MARK CAMPBELL: This DNA that they have, it's in their blood. It's the way they're wired. You couldn't channel it back if I wanted to.

These two -- they've been in college and they've been in these big games. When you get to have these experiences, it's addicting. You want to get back and you want to have a chance to cut nets, and you want to compete for championships.

Our body of work heading into this tournament, I didn't think we had to prove anything to the Committee. But I got news: These two, when it's time to lace 'em up and a chance to step on the court, they have no chill. It's game on.

Q. Hailey, you've been such a phenomenal passer for your career, but with the assist-to-turnover ratio, I think you guys had 19 assists on 24 baskets. How have you been able to build that connection this year with this new team?

HAILEY VAN LITH: Honestly, in my opinion, it starts on the games where we're missing shots and we still feed each other. Like the previous question that I answered, where Madison missed two shots, I still threw it to her. We have trust in each other to keep shooting, and we give each other confidence.

If that was me and I had just missed two, I know they would pass it to me and want me to knock it down. We just cultiveate trust, and if you have a good shot, we want you to take it, regardless of the outcome.

I think that that mentality has been really useful for us, you know, when we overcome games that we're not really hitting shots or we need a big bucket.

MARK CAMPBELL: I want to add to that. Hailey, I don't know if she has broken it or is about to break our single-season assist record. 7 away? It's what we talked about at the beginning.

These two are so selfless with the way they play the game. It's easy to get buy-in from everybody else when the two best players play the game that way. The 19 assists, we've broken our single-season team assists record. So it start with these two, the maturity that they have, their unselfishness. They have one goal. They just want to win. And the trip has been amazing.

Q. Mark, what has having Agnes back into the lineup meant?

MARK CAMPBELL: Agnes hasn't touched a ball since the Baylor game, and today at shoot-around was the first time. I think she got 7, 8 minutes of shooting on the court after we did our scout.

Agnes is a warrior. She has been the backbone of our program for the last two years. So just to have her back in the fight, she impacts the game defensively on the glass and just has a calming spirit to her always.

Again, it's are just another player -- Agnes has won a national championship. Agnes has played in Final Fours. So she's a kid that could not practice all week, step into a big-time game and deliver.

Q. Coach, Hailey mentioned how proud she was of Donovyn. How have you seen her step up and play like a veteran?

MARK CAMPBELL: Dono is the youngster on our team, and it hasn't been easy for Dono. It's almost like she had two freshman years. At Oregon State she was a true freshman point guard, had to learn their system, their staff, their players, and now she did it again, where she had to learn a new system with new players and new coaches.

And there was a part in the season where we pulled her out of the starting lineup and allowed her to breathe. And that kid just kept working and got to the point where we put her back in. I think she has had an incredible impact. Very similar to Agnes with the way she impacts the game with her humble spirit.

Dono is a quiet killer. A year ago she played in the Elite Eight as a starting point guard on a really good ball club. Even though she's young, she knows what it takes. It's just another kid who is a selfless winner.

It's a theme with this group and the way they compete and play the game, and it's also why we've come together so quickly. There is a really tight locker room, and there is a true sisterhood that we have.