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FORT WORTH -- Hailey Van Lith felt little bit more nostalgic than weird when facing her former team while trying to get to yet another Sweet 16 in the women's NCAA Tournament.
The winning feeling at the end was familiar, with the dynamic guard moving on to the Birmingham 3 Regional this season with first-timer TCU.
Agnes Emma-Nnopu scored a season-high 23 points with four three-pointers while Van Lith had 16 points and 10 assists as the second-seeded Horned Frogs advanced past the second round for the first time, winning 85-70 over seventh-seeded Louisville on Sunday. Van Lith went to a Final Four and two other Elite Eight games with the Cardinals from 2021-23, and went to another Elite Eight with LSU last season.
"To make it to the Sweet 16 is really, really hard to do," second-year TCU Coach Mark Campbell said. "Somehow Hailey just seems to do it every year, so it's normal for her. But for everybody else, it's not normal."
Van Lith, whose 19 tourney games played are more than any other active player, initially shrugged her shoulders before breaking out in a smile.
Before winning twice at home when hosting for the first time, the Big 12 champion Horned Frogs hadn't even made the NCAA field in 15 years -- and last won a tourney game since 2006. They were 1-17 in conference games two years ago before Campbell became their coach and has since brought in 11 transfers, most with NCAA experience.
Donovyn Hunter added a career-best 18 points, including 3 three-pointers in a 17-0 run that put the Horned Frogs (33-3) ahead to stay while there was so much defensive attention on Van Lith -- who did score the go-ahead basket in that span.
"They actually switched up their coverage a lot. ... At the beginning of the game, there's always a bunch of energy pent up, and I think once we rode that wave a little bit, I was able to just find my shooters," Van Lith said. "The game wouldn't have been the same if they wouldn't have stepped up the way they did. So, you know, teams can keep doubling me and I'm going to keep giving it to my teammates."
Sedona Prince added 19 points for the Frogs.
Jayda Curry had a career-high 41 points for the Cardinals (22-11). She already had 15 of those when she made a jumper that put them up 17-13 with 2:57 left in the first quarter before TCU's game-turning run.
"She absolutely fought for 40 minutes and really just played some impressive basketball," Louisville coach Jeff Walz said.
The Frogs are headed to Birmingham, Alabama, and a rematch with third-seeded Notre Dame (28-5). TCU beat the Fighting Irish 76-68 in the Cayman Islands on Nov. 29, an early indication of what could be a special season for the Frogs.
Olivia Cochran finished a five-season career with Louisville by scoring 15 points.
NOTRE DAME 76,
MICHIGAN 55
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Hannah Hidalgo scored 21 points and No. 3 seed Notre Dame routed No. 6 seed Michigan in the Birmingham 3 Regional.
Notre Dame advanced to the Sweet 16 for the fourth consecutive season.
Olivia Miles, who suffered an ankle injury in Notre Dame's 106-54 victory against Stephen F. Austin in the first round, started for the Fighting Irish. She had 8 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds.
Liatu King posted 18 points and 15 rebounds. Sonia Citron scored 16 points for Notre Dame.
Notre Dame (28-5) opened up with an 11-2 run and stormed to a 32-12 lead after the first quarter. The Fighting Irish looked like the team that dispatched Texas, Southern California, UConn and Duke in the regular-season rather than the team that dropped three of its last five regular-season games, hitting 12 of their first 16 shots. Michigan (23-11) started out 1-of-7 from the floor.
Notre Dame held Michigan to a season-low 55 points. The Wolverines' previous low was 58 points in losses to USC and Michigan State. Michigan entered the game averaging 78.2 points a game.
TENNESSEE 82,
OHIO STATE 67
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Talaysia Cooper had 19 points, 8 rebounds, 7 steals and 5 assists and Zee Spearman added 17 points and five rebounds as fifth-seeded Tennessee beat fourth-seeded Ohio State in the Birmingham 3 Regional
Ruby Whitehorn added 14 points and five rebounds and Samara Spencer had 10 points for Tennessee (24-9).
The Lady Vols advanced to play either No. 1 seed Texas or No. 8 seed Illinois in Birmingham, Ala., on Saturday.
Jaloni Cambridge had 19 points and five rebounds and Cotie McMahon had 17 points and five rebounds for Ohio State (26-7).
BIRMINGHAM 2 REGIONAL
SOUTH CAROLINA 64,
INDIANA 53
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Bree Hall had 11 points and Chloe Kitts scored all her 10 points in the second half as top seed South Carolina pulled away after trailing at halftime to beat ninth-seeded Indiana and reach the Sweet 16 for the 11th consecutive time.
Kitts added 10 rebounds for the Gamecocks (32-3), who will take on either fourth-seeded Maryland or fifth-seeded Alabama in the Birmingham 2 Regional next week. Those teams play Monday night.
Not that anyone at Colonial Life Arena was locking South Carolina into that game after a dreadful first-half performance where they shot just 10 of 29 and trailed the Hoosiers 26-25 at the break. But the Gamecocks came out on fire in the third quarter, hitting nine of their first 10 shots for a 20-7 run to take control.
When Hall's third three-pointer closed the surge, the Gamecocks had the game in hand and improved to 18-1 in their past four NCAA Tournaments.
Indiana couldn't get closer than seven points the rest of the way.
Shay Ciezki had 12 points to lead Indiana.
Sania Feagin added 10 points for South Carolina, which improved to 18-0 in home NCAA Tournament games.
DUKE 59, OREGON 53
DURHAM, N.C. -- Ashlon Jackson scored 14 of her 20 points in the third quarter to power No. 2 seed Duke to a victory over 10th-seeded Oregon in the Birmingham 2 Regional.
Duke (28-7) played without leading scorer Toby Fournier, the Atlantic Coast Conference rookie of the year who averages 13.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.
The 6-2 Canadian forward was dealing with an illness, ESPN reported.
Jackson shot 5 of 9 on three-pointers and had four rebounds. Reigan Richardson added 13 points while Delaney Thomas scored 12.
In her eighth career game against Duke, former North Carolina guard Deja Kelly finished with 20 points on 8-of-18 shooting for the Ducks (20-12). Phillipina Kyei had 14 points and 13 rebounds.
SPOKANE 1 REGIONAL
MISSISSIPPI 69, BAYLOR 63
WACO, Texas -- Madison Scott scored 14 points, including a tiebreaking jumper in the final minute, and Mississippi advanced to the Sweet 16 of the women's NCAA Tournament with a victory over Baylor on the Bears' home court.
Sira Thienou, playing with gauze stuffed into one of her nostrils, scored 16 points as the Rebels (22-10) won twice in Waco three years after a first-round loss that was the first tournament victory for South Dakota.
Aaronette Vonleh scored 16 points for the Bears (28-8), who failed to advance to the Sweet 16 from their arena for the second time in four seasons under Coach Nicki Collen. They had done so eight consecutive times under Kim Mulkey, who won three national championships at Baylor.
Ole Miss, which had the resume to be an early-round host, settled for the No. 5 seed, its highest since 1994, and moved on to the Spokane 1 Regional.
It's the second Sweet 16 in the past three seasons under Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin and the 12th in program history.
Notre Dame guard Olivia Miles (5) advances the ball as Michigan guard Mila Holloway, left, defends during the first half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 23, 2025, in South Bend, Ind. (AP Photo/John Mersits)Michigan head coach Kim Barnes Arico, center, reacts to call during the first half against Notre Dame in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Sunday, March 23, 2025, in South Bend, Ind. (AP Photo/John Mersits)Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey, center, shouts instructions during the first half against Michigan in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Sunday, March 23, 2025, in South Bend, Ind. (AP Photo/John Mersits)Notre Dame guard Sonia Citron, right, drives as Michigan guard Olivia Olson (1) defends during the first half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 23, 2025, in South Bend, Ind. (AP Photo/John Mersits)Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo shoots during the first half against Michigan in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 23, 2025, in South Bend, Ind. (AP Photo/John Mersits)Michigan guard Te'Yala Delfosse (33) and Notre Dame forward Maddy Westbeld (21) battle for the ball during the second half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 23, 2025, in South Bend, Ind. (AP Photo/John Mersits)Michigan guard Olivia Olson (1) drives around Notre Dame forward Liza Karlen (32) during the second half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 23, 2025, in South Bend, Ind. (AP Photo/John Mersits)