Hailey Van Lith’s big second half carries No. 2 TCU past No. 3 Notre Dame into Elite Eight

Hailey Van Lith poured in 26 points, 18 of them in the second half, as No. 2 TCU came from behind to beat No. 3 Notre Dame 71-62 on Saturday afternoon in an NCAA Women's Championship regional semifinal in Birmingham, Alabama.

The Horned Frogs (34-3) advance to the Elite Eight to square off on Monday against the winner of the regional's second semifinal between fifth-seeded Tennessee and No. 1 Texas, with the time to be announced. It is TCU's first trip to an NCAA regional final in program history.

Notre Dame led by three points at halftime and by as many as nine early in the third quarter before the Horned Frogs rallied to take a 58-52 advantage on a jumper by Van Lith two minutes into the final period. From there, TCU rode Van Lith's hot hand and savvy ball handling to finish off the victory.

Sedona Prince added 21 points, six rebounds and six blocked shots for the Horned Frogs while Madison Conner hit for 13 points.

Liatu King led Notre Dame (28-6) with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Hannah Hidalgo added 15 points and Olivia Miles had 10 for the Fighting Irish in the loss.

Notre Dame trailed by a point after one period before jumping to the front at 24-20 after a jumper by Miles with 8:49 to play in the second quarter. Notre Dame held the lead the rest of the half but never by more than four points, with the margin trimmed to 35-33 when the Horned Frogs' Donovyn Hunter converted two free throws with 33 seconds to play until halftime.

Prince, Conner (nine points each) and Van Lith (eight) combined for all but seven of TCU's points in the first half while King led the Fighting Irish with eight points and five rebounds before the break.

Notre Dame expanded its advantage to 44-35 when Hidalgo hit a pair of free throws with 5:51 to play in the third quarter. King's layup at the buzzer gave Notre Dame a one-point lead heading into the fourth.

--Field Level Media