By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — When the final horn sounded Saturday night at Golden 1 Center, it signaled the end of the last Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament. For the Virginia Cavaliers, it officially concluded a postseason run that was as captivating as it was unexpected.

“What they accomplished over the last couple of games is what March is all about,” TCU head coach Mark Campbell said.

Looking to crash the Elite Eight as a No. 10 seed—along with four No. 1s, a No. 2, a No. 3, and a No. 6—UVA led third-seeded TCU by a point at halftime of their third-round game at the Sacramento Kings’ arena.

The Horned Frogs scored the first 11 points of the third quarter, however, and went on to win 79-69. TCU (32-5) will face top-seeded South Carolina (34-3) on Monday night, with the winner advancing to the Final Four.

The Wahoo, who finished 22-12, head into the offseason looking to build on an NCAA tournament run that included wins over No. 10 seed Arizona State, No. 7 seed Georgia and, on its home court, No. 2 seed Iowa. Virginia became the first team to advance from the First Four to the Sweet Sixteen.

“I think it will be great for the program going forward,” senior guard Paris Clark said.

End of our road.

Final: UVA 69-79 TCU#GoHoos 🔸⚔️🔹 #GNSL pic.twitter.com/G8cZNMANIa

— Virginia Women’s Basketball (@UVAWomensHoops) March 29, 2026

This was UVA’s fourth season under head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton, and she led the program to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2018. The Hoos had to sweat out Selection Sunday, but once the NCAA tournament began they seized the opportunity.

“We did something special, and we thought we were going to continue on to the Elite Eight,” Agugua-Hamilton said. “Came up short. But it doesn’t take away from our season and the growth we’ve had with our program. I think obviously this is just the beginning for us in rebuilding this program, and our players are leaving a legacy. No matter what, they’ve etched their names in history: NCAA history and also UVA history. I’m just proud of them.”

As they did throughout this NCAA tournament, the Hoos battled to the end Saturday night. After TCU built a 70-55 lead with 2:50 to play, UVA scored 11 points in a 78-second stretch to cut its deficit to eight. A free throw by Clark made it a six-point game with 28 seconds to play, but TCU steadied itself and secured the win.

“The third quarter got away from us a little bit,” Agugua-Hamilton said. “But other than that, I was really proud of our fight. I was proud of the resiliency we showed. We were together even when they were going on a run. We didn’t really doubt ourselves or anything like that. We still stayed confident.”

Clark led Virginia with 20 points, and junior guard Kymora Johnson added 18 points, eight assists, six rebounds and two steals. But the Hoos couldn’t contain guard Olivia Miles or forward Marta Suarez, and the production of those TCU graduate transfers was the story of the game.

Suarez, a 6-foot-3 forward, scored a career-best 33 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Miles, a 5-foot-10 guard, nearly recorded a triple-double. She finished with 28 points (on 11-for-14 shooting), 10 rebounds and eight assists.

“Her basketball vision, her IQ, her understanding of the game is magical,” Campbell said of Miles. “It’s a gift that she has.”

Suarez came to TCU from Cal and Miles from Notre Dame, so the Cavaliers’ coaching staff knew well how dangerous they could be. According to ESPN, Suarez and Miles assisted on or scored every TCU basket. They scored 77.2% percent of the Horned Frogs’ points themselves.

“Great players step up in big moments,” Agugua-Hamilton said. “So credit to what they did today.”