Hailey Van Lith reflects on "self inflicted wounds" after Dawn Staley's South Carolina delivers blowout loss to TCU

Hailey Van Lith and the No. 9 TCU Horned Frogs crashed back to earth on Sunday, losing 85-52 to Dawn Staley's South Carolina in Forth Worth, Texas. Van Lith recorded a game-high 21 points but didn't get enough offensive support from her teammates as they suffered their first defeat of the season.

TCU Horned Frogs guard Hailey Van Lith (#10) has her shot blocked by South Carolina Gamecocks forward Ashlyn Watkins (2) during the second half at Dickies Arena. Photo: Imagn

Van Lith remained positive despite the blowout loss, saying in the post-game press conference that there's still a long way to go in the 2024-25 NCAA season and that they can address the mistakes they made against No. 3 South Carolina.

"We have to have a positive response," Van Lith said. "It’s early in the season, and we had a lot of self-inflicted wounds in this game. We just played on our heels and let them be the aggressor all game long.

"That’s something we can fix. That’s a good part about it. We can have a mindset shift. We’re gonna watch the film and learn from this, and we’re going to get better. Hopefully, we get another shot at a game like this later down the road."

The Horned Frogs were careless with the basketball against the Gamecocks, recording 20 turnovers. Seven of those came from Madison Conner, who struggled against South Carolina's defense. She scored just five points on 1-of-8 shooting. Van Lith also committed five turnovers.

South Carolina's second-quarter explosion dooms Hailey Van Lith, TCU

Hailey Van Lith scored five points and dished out two assists in the first quarter to keep the Horned Frogs within striking distance of the Gamecocks, who built a 20-14 lead after the opening period.

Things started to unravel in the second quarter, with South Carolina outscoring TCU 24-9 to open up a 44-23 lead at the break. The Gamecocks opened the quarter with a 10-0 run and finished it with an 11-0 blast to silence the home crowd.

South Carolina Gamecocks guard MiLaysia Fulwiley (12) reacts after scoring a basket against the TCU Horned Frogs during the second half at Dickies Arena. Photo: Imagn

The Gamecocks never looked back after that as they recorded their fourth consecutive win by double digits. MiLaysia Fulwiley scored a team-high 20 points for the Gamecocks(9-1).

They have bounced back strongly since their loss to the UCLA Bruins two weeks ago, winning their last four games by an average of 33.0 points.