BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Madison Booker scored 18 points and No. 1 seed Texas used its stifling defense to reach the Final Four of the women’s NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2003, beating well-traveled point guard Hailey Van Lith and second-seeded TCU 58-47 on Monday.
The Longhorns (35-3) will face defending champion South Carolina on Friday in Tampa, Fla., for a spot in the national title game.
Texas and won a regional final for the first time in four tries under coach Vic Schaefer, who previously made two Final Four trips with Mississippi State. The Longhorns’ 35 wins are one more than their only national title-winning squad had in 1986 under Jody Conradt, who was in the stands Monday and had led Texas to its three previous Final Fours.
Van Lith scored 17 points in her collegiate finale for TCU (34-4), but Texas neutralized the Horned Frogs’ star center, Sedona Prince, who had four points and nine rebounds before fouling out with 6:32 left in the game.
TCU had never made it past the second round of March Madness, but Van Lith helped the Horned Frogs make program history while taking her third school to the Elite Eight.
Booker, Texas’ offensive dynamo, scored 14 points in the second half. Rori Harmon added 13 points, 11 in the first half.
Nothing came easy for the Horned Frogs’ high-scoring trio of Van Lith, Prince and Madison Conner. Van Lith shot 3 of 15 from the field but made 10 of 11 free throws. The 6-foot-7 Prince attempted only four shots, and Conner scored nine points.
