KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Tournament MVP Hailey Van Lith scored 20 points, including a key bucket with 48.8 seconds left, and top-seeded TCU beat No. 2 seed Baylor 64-59 on Sunday at the T-Mobile Center to win the program’s first Big 12 Championship.

For Van Lith, it was the latest chapter in a year of success, including a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, a Big 12 regular season title and being named the conference’s player of the year.

She handled the accolades as calmly as she made 10-of-10 free throws on Sunday.

“Anybody can go out and average 20 a game and play on a bad team and never get to the postseason,” Van Lith said. “To say that your team kicks people’s butts, that’s the ultimate flex.”

The Horned Frogs won their first conference tournament title since 2005, when they were members of Conference USA.

TCU made its first appearance in the Big 12 title game, while Baylor leads the conference with 16 appearances and 11 titles (Oklahoma, which is now a member of the SEC, is second with four).

Sedona Prince had 12 points and 14 rebounds for No. 8 TCU (31-3). Madison Conner and Donovyn Hunter each scored 11.

Mark Campbell took over at TCU after the Horned Frogs went 8-23, 1-17 in Big 12 play in 2022-23. The Horned Frogs won their first 14 games, a program record, before injuries cut their roster to just six scholarship players and TCU limped to 21-12 finish and a second-round exit from the WBIT in his first year.

“In college basketball, you get a chance to play two exhibition games or two scrimmages,” Campbell said, “and we chose to play two SEC games behind closed doors. After those two days, we came back and met as a staff. You start going, ‘Gosh dang, we might be pretty good this year.’”

Aaronette Vonleh led No. 17 Baylor (27-7) with 20 points. Sarah Andrews scored 13 and Yaya Felder 12.

Conner made 1-of-2 free throws with 9.7 seconds left to give TCU a three-point lead. Vonleh missed a potential tying 3-pointer before Agnes Emma-Nnopu made two fouls shots to cap the scoring.

Andrews scored Baylor’s first six points in a 12-2 run that tied it at 57-all with 3:43 to go. Prince answered with a layup and TCU led the rest of the way.

“I’m gonna give us a day to hang our heads about it,” Andrews said of the loss. “But when 11:59 or 12 o’clock comes tonight, it’s time to move on and get ready for the NCAA Tournament.”

Takeaways

TCU: The Horned Frogs consistently got stops — and Van Lith made plays for herself and others — in crunch time.

Baylor: The Bears, 0-3 against TCU this season, struggled to execute down the stretch, committing four of their 14 turnovers in the final three minutes.

Key moment

Hunter stole a pass by Vonleh with about a minute to play that led to Van Lith’s layup that made it 61-57 with 48 seconds remaining.

Key stat

The Horned Frogs shot 91% from the free-throw line, where they outscored Baylor 21-15.

Up next

Both teams are likely to host opening-round games in the NCAA Tournament, which begins March 19. The tournament’s field will be announced on March 16.

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