TCU Women's Basketball Powers Past No. 19 West Virginia for 40th Straight Home Win

The Horned Frogs came back in the second half to defeat No. 19 West Virginia, securing their 40th straight home victory in an electric Schollmaier Arena Atmosphere.

Clara Silva scored 14 points to help TCU women's basketball beat West Virginia on Sunday. | Brian McLean - On Assignment Photo/KillerFrogs.com for TCU On SI

Schollmaier Arena shook Sunday night as center Clara Silva and forward Marta Suarez notched 14 points apiece to help No. 17 TCU women’s basketball surge past No. 19 West Virginia 59-50, turning a nail-biter into a statement win, extending its home streak to 40, and moving back atop the Big 12 Conference standings. 

“I thought we were tremendous defensively for 40 minutes and then we had that 20-2 run in the third quarter,” TCU head coach Mark Campbell said. “And this group has that ability. It was like an avalanche, and [then] grinding it out.”

The Horned Frogs (23-4 overall, 11-3 Big 12) completed a season sweep of the Mountaineers (21-6, 11-4), notched their second straight top-20 win, and extended their home winning streak to 40 games, tied for best in the nation with No. 4 Texas. West Virginia was the last team to beat TCU at home on Feb. 13, 2024.

TCU now has the same conference record as No. 12 Baylor and holds the head-to-head tiebreaker after Thursday’s win in Waco. West Virginia also has 11 victories in conference play and remains in the title hunt with three games left on its schedule. 

Silva and Suarez paced the Horned Frogs in scoring, but Silva provided a first-half spark with 10 points. The Horned Frogs shot 35.7% (10-of-28) from the field in the first half and trailed 28-22 at halftime.  

“I thought [Clara] stabilized us in the first quarter and allowed us to get our footing,” Campbell said. “But this was a big game for her. To go 14 and eight on national television against a big time team, she's going to just continue to get better and we need that.”

Silva added eight rebounds and two blocks to her stat line. 

FORTY. IN. A. ROW. 💜@tcuwbb survives a grinder vs a Top-20 WVU team and keeps Schollmaier a nightmare for visitors. ⁦@Martasuarezzz⁩ pic.twitter.com/Jnq0gIKzmM

— KillerFrogs.com (TCU On SI) (@Killer_Frogs) February 16, 2026

Guard Taylor Bigby hit double-digits as well with 10 points and Olivia Miles tacked on 12 points, seven assists and seven rebounds. 

West Virginia guard Gia Cooke posted a game-high 18 points and guard Sydney Shaw had 12 points. 

TCU took control of the game in the third quarter with a 20-2 run. The Horned Frogs made four 3-pointers out of the break after going 1-of-8 in the first half. Suarez, Bigby and Hunter (twice) got in on the action and Miles converted a couple buckets, including a steal and lay up that led to a 12-point advantage and a West Virginia timeout with 4:48 left. 

West Virginia clawed back into the game early in the fourth quarter cutting the lead to 50-44, but could not get closer than eight points after TCU gained a 58-47 edge. 

“The third quarter, I thought, was certainly the difference, in the run that they made, and we just didn't have the ability to squash it quick enough,” West Virginia head coach Mark Kellogg said. “Obviously, the four threes felt like probably even more than that, and they came pretty quickly at us offensively.”

The Horned Frogs held the Mountaineers under 35% shooting for the game (18-of-53) while nailing exactly 50% (25-of-50) of their shots. Unlike the first matchup in Morgantown, TCU kept the turnovers under control with 10. West Virginia had just nine points off those giveaways compared with 22 points off TCU’s season-high 24 turnovers on Jan. 14.

“[Coach Campbell] literally made us watch every single turnover we had just to see and let us realize that there weren't any big scary monsters, literally,” Miles said. “Just take your time. They're unforced. This is where we could have been better. Read the gaps, get in the space, and just settle down. And that's what we did a better job of tonight.” 

TCU struggled to find an offensive rhythm in the first half against a suffocating WVU defense. Only the starters scored and Bigby hit TCU’s lone 3-pointer.      

An early 11-6 TCU lead disappeared as West Virginia upped the defensive pressure to spark an 8-0 run. The Mountaineers held a 14-11 advantage at the first quarter break, aided by seven points off of five turnovers.

West Virginia forward Riley Makalusky nailed a pair of 3-pointers to open the second quarter, which helped push the lead to 11. The Horned Frogs managed to close the gap to 28-22 by halftime as Silva and Miles combined for eight of TCU’s 11 points in the second frame. 

“They're an elite defensive team,” Campbell said. “Start with that. They do a tremendous job. So, it's a heavyweight fight. It takes a little bit to get into rhythm. Second, we changed our transition in the second half, in the flow. We gave Miles more space to operate in the second half and emptied a corner out. Once she has space and can drive and kick instead, kids started hitting threes and then she got into paint. It just snowballs.”

TCU has four games left in the regular season, starting with a road trip to Houston on Wednesday. As Selection Sunday and the NCAA Tournament quickly approach, every game carries a little more weight especially as the Horned Frogs eye a top-four host seed. 

The NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee initial top 16 rankings were revealed on Saturday with TCU at No. 12. That would likely make the Horned Frogs a No. 3 seed if the tournament started tomorrow. With games against Iowa State, Baylor and at Cincinnati still looming, nothing is guaranteed.

Every opponent will continue to give TCU its best shot and force the team to earn any postseason accolades. Campbell noted the team played its "best game of the year" at Baylor and has even more room to grow. 

“When you play elite opponents, it forces you collectively to tighten everything up, and you need each other, and you lean into each other,” Campbell said. “And, so, that game in Waco, in that environment against your rival, and they're a really good basketball club, that forced us to be at our best. And then we followed it up again tonight. So I love where we're at. It's been an awesome journey with this group, and we're right there.”