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Texas Christian University Horned Frogs guard Olivia Miles (5) is restrained by Virginia Cavaliers guard Paris Clark (1) after a hard foul in the first half of an NCAA Women\u2019s Basketball Tournament Sweet 16 game Saturday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.<\/p>\n
JOS\u00c9 LUIS VILLEGAS<\/p>\n
jvillegas@sacbee.com<\/p>\n
Olivia Miles can really see the floor when she eyes a defense, and not because she wears goggles.<\/p>\n
The TCU guard has that gift for the game, that instinct and feel, and that\u2019s what has put her on the shortest list of top play-making guards in the country. The New Jersey native and transfer from Notre Dame has a flair for the game \u2014 the no-look pass, the reverse layup \u2014 and she was on full display on Saturday night at Sacramento\u2019s Golden 1 Center as the driving force for the Horned Frogs of Texas.<\/p>\n
Her 28 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and relentless exhibition of poised star power were paramount in No. 3-seeded TCU\u2019s 79-69 victory over No. 10 Virginia in a Sweet 16 conquest that sends the Horned Frogs to the Elite Eight for the second straight season under coach Mark Campbell, who three seasons ago elevated sagging Sacramento State<\/a> into the NCAA Tournament as a first-time entry.<\/p>\n The 5-foot-10 Miles dazzled and even unleashed something of a shimmy-shake dance that she downplayed as nothing special, with Campbell defending it as an \u201cElite Eight dance.\u201d Such is the joy for Miles, who is in her first Elite Eight, in expressing gratitude to play for a coach who allows her to be creative and to be with a supporting cast that she calls the best in the country.<\/p>\n As great as Miles is, she\u2019s not a one-person team. Marta Suarez, a 6-foot-3 forward from Spain, had a game-high 33 points to go with 10 rebounds, and Clara Silva and Taylor Bigby scored 8 points each for the Horned Frogs. Defensive dynamo Donovyn Hunter did not score, but she was superb as a stopper in helping TCU move to 32-5 in eliminating the lowest-seeded team left in the national field.<\/p>\n \u201cUltimately, I wanted to find my joy,\u201d Miles said of her goal this season. \u201cAnd that\u2019s very broad and can happen in a lot of different ways, but the people around me have helped me to love basketball again and compete at a high level.\u201d<\/p>\n Miles said she also enjoys the banter between fans, including Virginia faithful who tried to heckle with taunts that she can\u2019t dribble or drive to the left. She can go left. She went anywhere and everywhere she wanted to go.<\/p>\n \u201cI love banter like that,\u201d Miles said with a smile. \u201cIt\u2019s part of the game. Fans are going to be passionate. They want to win, so I love making them upset at the end of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n Campbell expressed appreciation to Sacramento on his return visit to the state capital. His Horned Frogs practiced at Sac State this week, where he ran into a lot of familiar faces.<\/p>\n Taking a team this season with 10 new players back to the Elite Eight had the coach grinning postgame, understanding how difficult it is to achieve such feats. Campbell\u2019s first TCU team two years ago was so thin on talent and players that he had an on-campus open tryout to bolster the roster. That group still made the NCAA Tournament.<\/p>\n Last year\u2019s outfit made program history, and this one can make some more memories in Monday\u2019s 6 p.m. showdown at Golden 1 against top-seeded South Carolina<\/a>, winners of the national championship in 2017, 2022 and 2023, for a chance to reach the Final Four next week in Phoenix.<\/p>\n Campbell said it takes leaders to be this good, and he has a fun one in Miles.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are maybe five women on the planet that can do what she does, maybe even men or women,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cHer vision, her IQ, her understanding of the game is magical. It\u2019s a gift that she has. It\u2019s been really fun as a coach to put her in position and space the court and give her the freedom to do what she does. That\u2019s just really special.\u201d<\/p>\n The coach added of Suarez, who logged 40 minutes in scoring her career-high of 33: \u201cMarta is a unicorn in her own way. She\u2019s a rare stretch four that\u2019s powerful and strong and can post, and then she has guard skills and can shoot 3\u2019s. It\u2019s been really fun trying to figure out how to create a two-man game with (Miles and Suarez).\u201d<\/p>\n Campbell said the transfer portal has its issues and challenges, but it can boost programs in a hurry. TCU is proof with 18 portal additions since Campbell\u2019s arrival, six in each of his campaigns.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is what you sign up for when you\u2019re at the Power 4 level of basketball, to try to put together a roster that\u2019s talented enough to win at the highest level, and try to do it with people that you just enjoy being around. It\u2019s been a magical journey with this group.\u201d<\/p>\n Kymora Johnson scored 18 points for Virginia, which was the first women\u2019s team to win a First Four at-large game to get into the tournament and to reach the Sweet 16.<\/p>\n This story was originally published March 28, 2026 at 8:05 PM.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n![\"Texas](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1320_262803_JV_TCU_Virg.jpg\" "\\"1320_262803_JV_TCU_Virg.jpg\\"")
Texas Christian University Horned Frogs guard Olivia Miles celebrates after making a basket as she runs up court against the Virginia Cavaliers in an NCAA Women\u2019s Basketball Tournament Sweet 16 game Saturday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. JOS\u00c9 LUIS VILLEGAS jvillegas@sacbee.com <\/p>\n![\"Texas](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0660_262803_JV_TCU_Virg.jpg\" "\\"0660_262803_JV_TCU_Virg.jpg\\"")
Texas Christian University Horned Frogs head coach Mark Campbell yells at his defense in the first half against the Virginia Cavaliers in an NCAA Women\u2019s Basketball Tournament Sweet 16 game Saturday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. JOS\u00c9 LUIS VILLEGAS jvillegas@sacbee.com <\/p>\n![\"Texas](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0867_262803_JV_TCU_Virg.jpg\" "\\"0867_262803_JV_TCU_Virg.jpg\\"")
Texas Christian University Horned Frogs forward Marta Su\u00e1rez shoots over Virginia Cavaliers forward Caitlin Weimar in the first half of a NCAA Women\u2019s Basketball Tournament Sweet 16 game Saturday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. JOS\u00c9 LUIS VILLEGAS jvillegas@sacbee.com <\/p>\n
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