March Madness 2025: Hailey Van Lith powers TCU to Sweet 16 win over Notre Dame with 26 points

TCU is on to the Elite Eight of the NCAA women's tournament after defeating Notre Dame in a thrilling, back-and-forth contest in the Birmingham 3 region on Saturday afternoon.

Hailey Van Lith was determined to lead the No. 2-seeded Horned Frogs past the No. 3 Irish to victory, scoring her team's last six points of the third quarter and added 12 in the closing 10 minutes. The senior guard finished 26 points, nine rebounds and four assists, shooting 10-of-21 to lift TCU into the next round while outdueling Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo and Olivia Miles in a marquee backcourt clash.

Van Lith is in the Elite Eight for the third consecutive season after advancing to a tournament regional final with Louisville and LSU the past two seasons. She is the first player — men's or women's — to reach that stage of the NCAA tournament with three different programs.

"We're fine with it being a dogfight every game. We don't hope that we win by 20," Van Lith told reporters on Friday, including Yahoo Sports' Cassandra Negley. "We don't hope they miss every shot. We're OK with it being a close game. We know it's going to be a fight. We're ready to fight. I feel very confident in our mindset."

Van Lith also set a TCU record for most points scored in a single season with her performance.

Sedona Prince added 21 points, six rebounds, four assists and six blocks for TCU in a tough clash of her own against Notre Dame's Liatu King. She made 11-of-12 free throws. Madison Conner added 13 points, shooting 2-of-4 on 3-pointers. As a team, the Horned Frogs blocked 10 shots in the game with