When No. 17 TCU walked into Foster Pavilion on Thursday night, the stakes were much higher than just a conference game. Playing No. 12 Baylor meant going up against a program with a long history and a rivalry that had once heavily favored the Lady Bears. But Olivia Miles and Marta Suarez had other plans. By the end of the game, they had scored 67 points, leading TCU to a crushing 83-67 win. This was one of the most dominant team performances in recent rivalry history.

Miles and Suarez had very different views on the rivalry going into the game. Miles was refreshingly honest when she said she didn’t know much about Baylor’s past. “Yeah, I mean, I’m just gonna be honest, I don’t really know much about it. This is my first time playing, so obviously I want to see it for Coach and do it for our program,” Miles said after the game. She continued, “But this is my first time ever playing Baylor, so it was a fun environment, and it was just obvious I know the history of Baylor and the Kim Mulkey era and all of her great players and great success.”

Suarez, on the other hand, loved the competitive atmosphere completely. Suarez said, “I love rivalry, and I love to see you, and I heard that these are rivals, so I was very excited.”

While Marta Suarez and Olivia Miles expressed different views on the rivalry, their on-court performance was perfectly aligned. The numbers showed that two players took advantage of every chance they got. Before the fourth quarter even started, Miles had already scored a career-high 33 points. She ended up with 40 points on 28 shots and made 10 three-pointers, making her the first Division I player in 25 years to make 10 threes on the road against a ranked team.

The fact that Olivia Miles and Suarez were so good together showed how dangerous TCU is going to be in the future. Suarez and Miles both had their best games of the season, taking advantage of Baylor’s defense’s inability to adapt. This was TCU’s fourth straight win over Baylor, which completely changed the rivalry.

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TCU thrives without Maddie Scherr as bench players step up

In addition to Olivia Miles and Suarez’s great performances, TCU’s depth showed up in the statement win. The Horned Frogs executed their game plan to perfection, even though senior guard Maddie Scherr was out with a back injury. Scherr has only played twice since getting hurt against Arizona, so TCU has had to rely on players who haven’t proven themselves in serious situations against a ranked opponent.

Freshmen Clara Bielefeld and Taliyah Parker, who transferred from Texas A&M, stepped up and played more minutes. Parker played a season-high 13 minutes, while Bielefeld stayed in her usual rotation role. Together with senior Taylor Bigby, they only scored eight points, but played great defense that let the offensive stars do their thing. Their presence let Miles and Suarez dominate without having to worry about defense anywhere else on the floor.

Coach Campbell of TCU stressed how important it is to give this bench confidence before the tournament season. “We have great talent, great depth,” Campbell said. “It’s a long season. Taliyah and Clara are two youngsters who have been grinding in practice for a long time. It was just kind of their time. As you’ve gone through the season, they’ve slowed down their game, and they understand their role on both sides of the ball. There’s just been built up trust.”

Parker and Bielefeld’s win over Baylor was a key moment for them to gain confidence in high-pressure situations. As the tournament gets closer, having players who have done well against ranked teams becomes very important.