No. 11 TCU women’s basketball secured its second straight outright Big 12 championship by taking down rival No. 18 Baylor, 65-53, on Sunday in the regular season finale.
It was a momentous day for the program as the Horned Frogs (27-4, 15-3) completed the season sweep of the Bears (24-7, 13-5) a few hours after TCU hosted ESPN College GameDay for the first time in college basketball. It was there that TCU head coach Mark Campbell declared TCU would win its 42nd straight home game to secure the conference title.
“What an awesome environment, an awesome crowd. It was an incredible day for our program,” Campbell said after the win. “It started off this morning with hosting College GameDay and putting on a show center court at the Scholl. We had an incredible battle with Baylor today in a big time game.”
The most satisfying aspect of the rivalry win was how TCU controlled the game throughout. The Horned Frogs led by double digits most of the way in the second half.
Texas Christian University forward Marta Suarez (7) celebrates a play with teammates during the third quarter against Baylor on Sunday, March 1 2026, at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth. None amccoy@star-telegram.com
There was some late drama, however, as the Bears tried to make one last rally. With 4:55 remaining TCU’s 19-point second half lead had been trimmed to just 52-44. Baylor had switched to a half-court trap style of defense that sped up the Horned Frogs and forced multiple turnovers.
But with the game on the line, TCU’s Olivia Miles took control with multiple highlight plays down the stretch to clinch the game. After scoring three quick points Miles made back-to-back no-look passes to Clara Silva and Taylor Bigby as TCU extended its lead to 65-51 with 1:23 remaining. Baylor would score just one more basket the rest of the way.
“It was special, it was special to even have the opportunity on our home court,” Miles said. “That’s kind of what the emphasis, guys we can literally cut down nets on our home court to end the season. It was special to have that week leading up, knowing we were going to have College GameDay and then today. We’re just going to enjoy the moment.”
Texas Christian University forward Marta Suarez (7) is defended by Baylor guard Jana Van Gytenbeek (4) and forward Kiersten Johnson (2) while driving towards the basket on Sunday, March 1 2026, at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com
Marta Suarez led the Horned Frogs with 21 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. TCU ended the regular season on a six-game winning streak and will be the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, which starts on March 4.
“We made it a little bit more interesting than we needed to at the end,” Suarez said with a smile. “But other than that I’m just so happy, what a great day, and it’s not over yet.”
Here are three more takeaways from Sunday’s win:
New approach not enough
As expected, Baylor had a much different approach defensively against Miles after she torched the Bears for 40 points and 10 3-pointers in Waco. Instead of going under the screener in the pick-and-roll, the Bears were much more aggressive at the point of attack to try and push Miles into the lane toward help .
Miles was still comfortable against this style of defense as she put Baylor on its heels as a driver and a passer. Miles helped break the game open in the second half as she drove hard to the rim for TCU’s first basket in the third quarter and a few possessions later she converted a three-point play to increase the lead to 34-21.
It was that point that Baylor decided the best defense was to get the ball out of Miles’ hands as they began to trap every pick and roll with two defenders. It was a successful adjustment as Miles went over 10 minutes of gametime without a point. But when the game hung in the balance, Miles scored or assisted on TCU’s final seven points.
Miles finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and three assists.
Texas Christian University guard Olivia Miles passes the ball backwards while defended by Baylor forwards Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, left, and Kyla Abraham on Sunday, March 1 2026, at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth. None amccoy@star-telegram.com Changing of the guard
For over a decade Baylor women’s basketball stood at the top of the Big 12 pecking order, winning 12 straight conference regular season championships and nine Big 12 tournament championships from 2011-22. No program felt further away from the Bears than TCU, which only had two seasons above .500 during Baylor’s dominant run.
The Bears also owned a 37-game winning streak against the Horned Frogs with over 20 victories during that era. That dominance seems like forever ago as the tables have turned the last two seasons; TCU notched its fifth straight victory over the Bears Sunday.
For further context, TCU’s all-time record against Baylor is now 10-47 and half of those victories have come in the last two seasons. In just three seasons the Horned Frogs have surpassed Baylor in the Big 12 pecking order and that might be one of the greatest achievements of the Campbell era.
Defense delivers
It was an uncharacteristic performance offensively by TCU as the Horned Frogs didn’t have the usual crisp execution , but that didn’t matter thanks to one of their best defensive performances of the season. From the opening tip, the Horned Frogs swarmed Baylor defensively as TCU held Baylor to just 24% shooting in the first half while with forcing 11 turnovers.
From forcing multiple air balls and shot-clock violations, Baylor had no answer for TCU’s defense. In one sequence Suarez and Miles combined to force a live ball turnover. Suarez finished off the play with a nice bounce pass to Miles on the fast break for a basket that increased TCU’s lead to 23-11 midway through the second quarter.
Texas Christian University forward Marta Suarez cuts a section of net to celebrate her team winning the Big 12 regular season championship on Sunday, March 1 2026, at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth. None amccoy@star-telegram.com
Baylor shot better in the second half as Taliah Scott got hot in the fourth quarter, but the Bears finished the day shooting just 35% from the field and 16 turnovers.
“We force teams into a lot of difficult shots,” Miles said. “Even Taliah, she scored a lot towards the end, but those shots were tough. And making shots difficult is our identity.”
This story was originally published March 1, 2026 at 5:32 PM.