TCU women’s basketball didn’t land in one of the Fort Worth regionals for the NCAA Tournament like the Horned Frogs hoped, but they still received a favorable draw.

TCU (29-5) received a No. 3 seed in the second Sacramento regional and will begin its quest to reach the Final Four for the first time against No. 14 seed UC San Diego (24-8) at 11 a.m. Friday at Schollmaier Arena on ESPN.

If the Horned Frogs handle their business they’ll face the winner of No. 6 seed Washington (21-10) vs. No. 11 seed South Dakota State (27-6) in the second round Sunday, March 22, at Schollmaier.

TCU will be a heavy favorite in both games.

Here’s an early look at UC San Diego and TCU’s potential second-round matchup:

Key players to knowUC San Diego

Erin Condron: The Tritons’ best player is the 6-foot-4 junior forward who is leading the team with 15.7 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Condron is an old-school big who does most of her damage inside the paint and is shooting 53.6% from the floor.

Makayla Rose: The senior guard is the leader of a talented trio in the backcourt and is the Triton’s second-leading scorer (12.8) and rebounder (4.7).

Sabrina Ma: Another senior in the backcourt, Ma is listed at 5-10 and is averaging 11.5 points and 4.5 rebounds. Ma is an aggressive long-range shooter, averaging nearly seven 3-point attempts per game (making 32.6%).

Rosa Smith: The 5-7 junior is the final piece in the backcourt and is the best shooter on the team, knocking down 35.9% of her 3-point attempts. She is averaging 11.0 points and 2.5 assists per game.

Washington

Sayvia Sellers: The 5-7 junior was one of the most dynamic guards in the Big Ten, averaging 18.5 points and 3.7 assists while shooting 35.9% from 3.

Avery Howell: The 6-foot sophomore guard may be the most impactful player. She averages 13.7 points per game and a team-high 8.3 rebounds and shoots 41.9% from 3.

South Dakota State

Brooklyn Meyer: If the Jackrabbits have a chance to pull off the upset, it’ll likely be because of a big game from the senior forward. The 6-2 Meyer leads the team with 22.4 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.

Key results to know

The Horned Frogs will be much more battle-tested than Tritons, who have played only one Power Four conference team this season, a 67-50 blowout loss to Washington on Nov. 28. UC San Diego also lost to Sacramento State, Pacific and San Francisco.

Washington picked up a few quality wins this season, including defeating No. 9 Michigan on New Year’s Day and No. 17 Maryland on Jan. 28. The Huskies also defeated Utah 72-61 on Nov. 15. The Utes upset TCU 87-77 in overtime on Jan. 3. Washington went 9-10 in Quad 1 and Quad 2 games compared TCU’s 14-5 record.

The Jackrabbits played a number of elite teams during the regular season, with matchups against No. 3 Texas, No. 8 Duke and No. 15 North Carolina. South Dakota State lost all three games by an average of 32 points.

A legendary sibling

The Tritons are led by head coach Heidi VanDerveer. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because her older sister Tara previously held the record for most wins by a college basketball coach when she retired from Stanford after the 2023-24 season.

Tara VanDerveer ended her legendary coaching career with 1,216 career wins and three national championships. She now has the second-most wins by a college basketball coach behind UConn’s Geno Auriemma.

Heidi VanDerveer had a short tenure on Tara’s staff at Stanford as a video coordinator in 2003-04. This is the second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament for the Tritons after the program made the move up to Division I in 2020.

Game schedule dates, times, locations March 8 Toronto 122, Mavericks 92 March 10 Atlanta 124, Mavericks 112 March 12 Mavericks 120, Memphis 112 March 13 Cleveland 138, Mavericks 105 March 15 Mavericks 130, Cleveland 120 March 16 at New Orleans, 7 p.m., KFAA, MavsTV March 18 vs. Atlanta, 7:30 p.m., KFAA, MavsTV March 21 vs. L.A. Clippers, 7:30 p.m., KFAA, MavsTV March 23 vs. Golden State, 8:30 p.m., Peacock, NBC Sports Network March 25 at Denver, 9 p.m., KFAA, MavsTV Feb. 28 TCU 77, Kansas State 68 March 3 TCU 73, Texas Tech 65 March 7 TCU 73, Cincinnati 63 Big 12 Tournament (at Kansas City, Mo.) March 11 No. 6 TCU 95, No. 14 Oklahoma State 88 (second round) March 12 No. 3 Kansas 78, No. 6 TCU 73 (quarterfinals) NCAA Tournament March 19 vs. No. 9 Ohio State (at Greenville, S.C.), 11:15 a.m., CBS Feb. 25 TCU 83, Cincinnati 70 March 1 TCU 65, Baylor 53 Big 12 Tournament (at Kansas City, Mo.) March 6 No. 1 TCU 63, No. 9 BYU 46 (quarterfinals) March 7 No. 1 TCU 74, No. 12 Kansas State 62 (semifinals) March 8 No. 2 West Virginia 62, No. 1 TCU 53 (championship) NCAA Tournament March 20 vs. UC San Diego (at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth), 11 a.m., ESPN March 26 at Philadelphia, 3:15 p.m., TBD March 28 at Philadelphia, 3:05 p.m., TBD March 29 at Philadelphia, 12:35 p.m., TBD March 30 at Baltimore, 5:35 p.m., TBD March 31 at Baltimore, 5:35 p.m., TBD April 1 at Baltimore, 11:35 a.m., TBD March 6 TCU 10, Tulane 2 March 8 Tulane 8, TCU 4 March 8 TCU 4, Tulane 3 (7 innings) March 10 TCU 9, Kansas 4 March 13 TCU 5, Arizona State 4 March 14 Arizona State 15, TCU 8 March 15 Arizona State 4, TCU 0 March 17 vs. New Mexico State, 2 p.m., ESPN+ March 20 vs. Central Florida, 6 p.m., ESPN+ March 21 vs. Central Florida, 5 p.m., ESPN+ March 22 vs. Central Florida, 1 p.m., ESPN+ March 6 Colorado 5, Stars 4 (SO) March 8 Stars 4, Chicago 3 (OT) March 10 Stars 2, Vegas 1 March 12 Stars 7, Edmonton 2 March 14 Stars 3, Detroit 2 (OT) March 16 vs. Utah, 7 p.m., Fox, Victory+ March 18 at Colorado, 8:30 p.m., TNT, HBO Max March 21 at Minnesota, 3 p.m., Victory+ March 22 vs. Vegas, 6 p.m., NHL Network, Victory+ March 24 vs. New Jersey, 7 p.m., KDFI 27, Victory+ 2026 season Aug. 29 vs. North Carolina (at Dublin), TBA Sept. 12 vs. Grambling State, TBA Sept. 19 vs. Arkansas State, TBA Sept. 26 at Central Florida, TBA Oct. 3 vs. BYU, TBA Oct. 17 at Baylor, TBA Oct. 24 vs. West Virginia, TBA Oct. 31 vs. Kansas, TBA Nov. 7 at Arizona, TBA Nov. 14 vs. Kansas State, TBA Nov. 21 vs. Utah, TBA Nov. 28 at Texas Tech, TBA 2026 season TBA vs. TBA (at Rio de Janeiro), TBA 2026 opponents (dates and times TBA; one home game will be in Rio) vs. N.Y Giants vs. Philadelphia vs. Washington vs. Arizona vs. San Francisco vs. Tampa Bay vs. Jacksonville vs. Tennessee vs. Baltimore at N.Y Giants at Philadelphia at Washington at L.A. Rams at Seattle at Green Bay at Houston at Indianapolis Feb. 21 FC Dallas 3, Toronto 2 Feb. 28 FC Dallas 0, Nashville 0 March 7 LAFC 1, FC Dallas 0 March 14 FC Dallas 3, San Diego 3 March 21 vs. Houston, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV April 4 at D.C. United, 6:30 p.m., Apple TV April 11 vs. St. Louis, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV April 18 vs. LA Galaxy, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV April 22 vs. Minnesota, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV March 20-21 POWRi Racing March 28 Mopar Heaven April 11 NASCAR Racing Experience April 18 Team Texas-David Starr’s Racing School April 18 Bubble Run April 23-25 Pate Swap Meet April 25 FuelFest April 30-May 2 High Limit Racing Stockyard Stampede May 1 NASCAR Truck Series: SpeedyCash.com 250 May 2 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series: Andy’s Frozen Custard 340 May 3 NASCAR Cup Series: Wurth 400
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