A tightrope title win on the final game of the Big 12 regular season didn’t come without questions for TCU. The Horned Frogs, behind their newfound hero, Olivia Miles, clinched a 53-65 win over Baylor to ensure their second consecutive outright title. Yet despite that, head coach Mark Campbell quietly knew that his team was far from perfect.

The reality set in at the post-game press conference, when head coach Campbell was asked about how his team dealt with the struggles in the game.

“I mean at this point, it was game 31. You’ve kind of seen it all at this point and we got some old veterans that have been in college a long time,” Campbell said. “So, it took us a while to settle down. We have a league title, it’s human nature to kind of take your foot off the gas pedal, or put it in cruise control.

“They were trying, crawling, and fighting to get a share of the league title. So you had kind of fight the human nature a little bit as you’re preparing for the game,” he added further.

Mark Campbell’s assessment fits perfectly in the game’s box score. His team conceded 12 turnovers in the third and fourth quarters alone, giving away 15 points to the Bears. These errors helped Baylor compete quite substantially in the final 20 minutes of the game. TCU did score 39 points with Olivia Miles, Marta Suarez, and Taylor Bigby, but they also conceded 38 against a team they were able to halt to 15 points in the first 20 minutes.

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“In the third quarter, we were rolling, but we took our foot off the gas, and that’s one of the things with this group is to put together 40 minutes together,” Miles shed light on it and added. “We haven’t done that, but we got it under control and finished it off.”

These turnovers didn’t cost them much, as experienced players Miles and Suarez combined for 40 points. Miles scored 8-16 from open play and missed a double-double by just a single rebound. Suarez, on the other hand, scored a game-high 21 points along with 11 rebounds. These factors, combined with Baylor’s cold shooting from the perimeter (5 of 27 for 19%) edged out the game for TCU.

There’s no doubt that TCU’s second consecutive outright Big 12 title was immensely impressive, given that they turned around from being a bottom-half team between 2020-24. But with Miles and Suarez in the mix, their ceiling isn’t just bound by their conference; they have the perfect roster to compete for the National Championships.

Olivia Miles Solidifies Her Senior Year Transfer with the Big 12 Title

When Miles transferred from Notre Dame to TCU, she wasn’t just changing teams; she was stepping into new challenges under a new coach and in a new conference. Yet despite that, she is able to pull off a career season, averaging 20.1 points per game, and the Big 12 conference title just adds more weight to her transfer decision.

She shed light on winning the conference title in front of 6,000+ fans at the Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth following the game. “Special to even have the opportunity to do it on our home court, ” Miles said. “And that’s kind of what the emphasis was. We can literally cut nets on our home court to end the season.”

Olivia Miles and the TCU Horned Frogs still have a long way to go in the postseason. They have made their first stride perfectly, clinching the top seed for the Big 12 conference championships.

The senior guard is already one of the possible picks in the WNBA draft. And this title can give her an edge for the ceremonial top pick, given that many teams will be eyeing her traits to step forward whenever needed. That’s a tale for another day.

For now, Miles and the TCU Horned Frogs continue their march for success at the National Championships, which has been long overdue for the program. Additionally, to make this happen, Miles and co would have to deal with those nemeses of ball security and relentless team effort, because in the postseason, consistent ball security and relentless effort are mandatory for success.