NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - WASHINGTON VS TCU

March 22, 2026

Mark Campbell

Olvia Miles

Taylor Bigby

Marta Suarez

Schollmaier Arena

TCU Horned Frogs

Media Conference

TCU - 62, Washington - 59

THE MODERATOR: We'll go ahead and get started with an opening statement from Coach and then take questions for the student-athletes.

MARK CAMPBELL: Well I'll start off congratulating Washington on a fantastic season. They got a great ball club. Coach is doing a great job there. Second, I want to thank our community. Just an amazing crowd tonight that got us over the hump. We don't win this game without that crowd and environment and support. Student body was awesome. We needed every single person in that arena. Could not be more proud of this group. That was just a great tee resilient game. We were down the whole time and just stayed in the fight. We grinded that thing out, got it to overtime. Then we finally broke loose and hit some shots and got a seven point lead and we were able to get that across the finish line. But I'm just -- winning in March, you guys, is so stinking hard, and I'm thankful we get another 40 minutes together, we get another week together, and I'm excited to get back to Sacramento. Sacramento's been a special place for our coaching staff. So this is awesome.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Donovyn talked yesterday about what a group effort it would take to contain a shooter like Avery Howell, but in that second half in overtime it seems like you pretty much took that job on your shoulders, she got up two shots, hit the one three after the break. What was your thought process and how did you manage to just stick with her through all of the screens and everything they were running for her?

TAYLOR BIGBY: I think it's heart and having a competitive spirit. They got me a couple times in the first half and I think I just took it really personal going into the second half. I knew that's what my team needed in order for to us win, for us to get stops.

Q. Marta, you picked up your fourth foul about midway through that third quarter. Talk about what was going through your mind when you picked up that foul and how you were able to stay in the game and effective not picking up that final foul?

MARTA SUAREZ: I was thinking don't foul, stay in the game. But at the same time you can't be playing touch. This is a huge game, it was a very tight game. So we couldn't even afford easy buckets for them. But, I don't know, just tried to stay in the game, stay thinking about my teammates.

Q. The atmosphere obviously was electric tonight. Could you bring me through a player perspective being out on that court the end of the fourth and then in overtime, like how you guys were feeling.

MARTA SUAREZ: I've never heard them that loud.

TAYLOR BIGBY: Yeah, I don't think we win this game today without the crowd. We needed the crowd behind us and we needed to go on a run and when we did they were behind us and I think that was a lot of the game changer for us.

OLIVIA MILES: Marta kept telling us, A few buckets, get the crowd in it. She was right. When we went on that run when Tay hit that euro, that was the loudest I ever heard it in the Scholl and just a testament to what he's built here and his ability to rally the community. Getting older fans out at 9 p.m. on a Sunday is kind of crazy, but it's just a love in this community, so vibrant and just select trick.

Q. Olivia, do you think you would had won it at the end of regulation?

OLIVIA MILES: Oh, yeah, I thought it was going in. Then I was distraught afterwards. My teammates had to calm me down a little bit. But, yeah, I thought I won it. I practice that shot a lot, so...

Q. You had obviously a tough first half in this game. Talk about your resiliency and what you were able to do late for this team.

OLIVIA MILES: I owe it all to my teammates, to be honest. I was crashing out multiple times. I was angry, I was feeling all the emotions because I didn't want to go home I was like I don't want to let my team down. They just, especially Taylor she was just in my ear just keep creating, keep scoring, keep being aggressive. I listened to them and I trust them and it would be a disservice for me not to be resilient for them and for myself.

Q. Olivia, in that first half it looked like Washington was getting their hands in the passing lanes and really guarding the pick-and-roll well. Talk about from your perspective what you saw that they did that made it so hard for you guys to get an offensive flow.

OLIVIA MILES: Yeah, I think honestly I thought it was because we let them guard us how they wanted to. We let them ice us and we didn't attack it. We couldn't get a flow. Then it got stuck and then we were getting shot clock violations and stuff. So it all stemmed from our defense. We weren't getting stops so then we had to play in the half court. When we have those avalanche-type moments in games it's because we stack stops quickly and we score quickly. Yeah, they just were able to set, they were running a, it's pretty hard to guard when they switch 1 through 4 and they're just not moving and our offense is predicated on getting screens and getting open. So it was just hard when it was so stagnant.

Q. It is 11:54 p.m., do you --

MARK CAMPBELL: The night is young.

Q. For the three of you players, do you guys, do you know if any of your teammates have early classes tomorrow?

MARTA SUAREZ: I have an 8:00 a.m.

TAYLOR BIGBY: I'm you asynchronous, so no.

OLIVIA MILES: Me too. Thank goodness.

MARTA SUAREZ: If Doctor Lemon is watching this, text me.

Q. Can you talk about how critical the defensive effort was today and in the first half when the offense was slow your defense really kept you in the game you held 'em to 35 percent shooting all game. Talk about how critical that defense was.

OLIVIA MILES: I'll start with this. Let me just say, Taylor and Donovyn are, I can't even put it into words, so imperative to our defense. The way that they chase around these girls for 45 minutes, I kid you not, like and then to have the ability for done to come down and hit a crazy left-handed layup to put us up five or Tay to hit big shots after just chasing Herman around for 40 seconds, 30 seconds on the other end is crazy. And they do it without complaining, they do it without asking questions or -- they do it so blindly for our team and it's just so incredible to watch because it allows us to get in a flow and we trust them so much to get stops. So having those two starts our defense and then when it goes to Silva, I mean she's just a brick wall down there. Like even some of the fouls they called, she was blocking their shots cleanly. Just having her, she cleans up a lot of the guards really happy guards' mistake, thankfully. But she's just a wall down there so we know she's just a fortress protecting the rim.

Q. What were the conversations that you guys were having at halftime after being held to 19 points and what was Coach Campbell's message to you guys?

TAYLOR BIGBY: I think before coach even came in I was telling 'em they're not going to give it to us we knew it wasn't going to be easy coming in here. This is what March is about. It's just like one extra thing that I felt like we needed to do. I felt like they were a little bit of the tougher team in the first half and our team came together during halftime and kind of held each other accountable for the things that we needed to fix and we went out there and fixed 'em. It wasn't an instant fix but it was just little by little that we kept on changing things for us.

Q. Taylor, Mark talked all season long about the work you put in when you're coming off the bench or now that you're in the starting lineup. How special is it to you to have the two games you have had to close out your career at TCU?

TAYLOR BIGBY: It's really special, it's a blessing. I thank God for it. I thank God for just keeping me sane, keeping me mentally tough. But my teammates, my coaches, I wouldn't be here without them and the confidence that they instill in me, the trust that he has in me, it just means everything. I mean, there's no other way to go out with my last games here at the Scholl and it's definitely going to be something I remember.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, players. We'll take questions for Coach.

Q. Talk about the decision to keep Marta in there midway through the third quarter with four fouls.

MARK CAMPBELL: Yeah, fouls kind of all season, my whole head coaching career, I don't worry about foul trouble. She's a warrior. She's a really important part of what we do. But it's analytics and it's, we have old veterans that are up here. You don't want 'em to get out of their rhythm and lose kind of their flow. So it's one of those things, if you sit her, traditionally most people are going to sit the kid until the fourth quarter to shrink the game for them. I didn't. And she didn't foul out. So it just shows you how valuable every bucket is and every possession. If Marta is on the bench we can't win this game. So I want to go, if we're going to lose I'm going to go down swinging. But I've done that my whole time here with my veterans. I trust 'em. At this point this was game 36, I think, so she did what I expected. She played smart, she competed and she didn't foul out.

Q. You guys down eight at half. Your players talked about it, but as coach what was your kind of message to the team at half?

MARK CAMPBELL: Our defense elite, our defense kept us in the game. It's what we've done all year. Our defense has just been nails and we're hard to score on. Offensively, you guys, you know, I mean that's an amazing crowd, there's a lot at stake, there's a Sweet 16, it's a big stage. I think the group wanted it so bad that they weren't relaxed offensively. The ball was sticking and we were kind of forcing. This group doesn't want to go home. They don't want this journey to end. So I think offensively we just needed to take a deep breath and relax and play off of each other. So that was my main message, we needed to offensively do that in the second half. Then Olivia really became a paint monster, and started attacking, wasn't settling and got drive and kicks and got to the rim. That kind of opened everything up.

Q. Silva especially in that fourth quarter she really seemed to take over both on offense and defense. You've talked all year about what she can become, but for her to do that on this stage, how important was that for her and her development?

MARK CAMPBELL: I mean Silva, it's so fun to watch her journey. But to go for 16 and 8 in this environment on this stage against a really good team -- and they're hard to guard, they play small ball they don't have a true center in their main lineup so she's having to guard a forward. And she struggled in the first half. But what's neat about her and bash sham have been such an amazing duo we wouldn't be in this game if bash ham hadn't had some amazing performances over the last 8, 10 games. Tonight was Silva's night and she imposed her will and was great in the pick-and-roll with Miles. Then in the second half defensively she made it hard for Brynn to score over her. So we needed it. I'm so proud of her. She's just a sophomore, she wants to be great, she's working hard, this is one of those games that's a break through confidence moment for a young player like her.

Q. 9:05 is pretty late to start a game. Do you think the crowd would have been bigger if the game started at a more reasonable hour?

MARK CAMPBELL: No question. You guys, it's March Madness and you got young people, so we're going to play any time and we're going to do it with great enthusiasm. But a year ago we sold out the Scholl against Louisville and if this is at any time, 2, 4, 6, 8, the Scholl's a sellout. But you guys, for a late night tip, to have that environment and crowd and energy, it's almost midnight right now, man, Fort Worth has been incredible. It's why we have the longest home winning streak in the country. Is it 43? Is that what we're at? 44. Unbelievable. 44. So, and the student body, coming back from spring break and for them to show up was just awesome. So, yes, I wish it was earlier, but listen, we're moving on and we're in the Sweet 16, so I'm good with it.

Q. We have seen so many teams double and triple team your players how much of an advantage is it that you had Donovyn and Taylor that could pretty much go one-on-one against Avery and Sellers tonight and really contain them, make 'em hit tough shots when they did?

MARK CAMPBELL: Yeah, this group is so well rounded, so balanced. We're long, we got multiple defenders. Offensively we got shooters everywhere and kids that can make plays off the bounce. Obviously all of our actions are for Miles and Suarez, but Silva's a low post presence, so is Basham, but to get to a Sweet 16 you have to have a really, really good basketball team and you have to have great balance. I think you got to see that tonight. Suarez was a little slow tonight and Silva had a great game. Bigby was elite. Don't know had a slow game offensively. Miles, I thought she had a slow game and then after she's two assists away from a triple double. You're like, holy crap. It's the quietest almost triple double. So this team is just so balanced, there's weapons everywhere on both sides of the ball. It's why we're 31-5 and it's why we're still playing.

Q. You guys went on a 7-0 run there at the end that kind of tied the game before you guys were able to take it to overtime. What did you see in that run that led to the over time, the win that you kind of knew that this could come?

MARK CAMPBELL: You know, Olivia started, we got some side on ball action, she was manipulating it, she was getting in the paint, she was getting to the rim. It just put so much pressure, she had the dime to Silva. We had the kick out three to Bigby. They're just, Olivia, her vision, her scoring ability, she puts so much pressure on a defense. And it's hard to -- in the first half one of the advantages is the team is in front of your bench, so defensively you get to call out the plays and the scout and help your team. In the second half and in this environment you're kind of on an island down there. So Olivia got it going and then we just had a balanced attack. But there was a rhythm. The first half there was no flow, the ball was sticking, it was stagnant. And, you know, we got stops. Now we can push in transition. So it was all of those things I think that contributed to that run.

Q. You go back to the summer, you got all these new pieces and now you are back in the Sweet 16, and that's something this program has never done is back-to-back Sweet 16s. To do it with two very different teams, I mean, you haven't had time really to reflect on it, but just your gut reaction to being able to do something so kind of unseen here.

MARK CAMPBELL: Yeah, man, it's been a grind. To take the program that's 1-17 and have you no NIL money and you got to figure out how to dig a program out of a hole. To do what we've been able to do as a program, to get back to the Sweet 16, I think it's happened two times in the history of our school. That was last year and this year. Our staff has been amazing. To build these rosters primarily out of the portal, to get a team to become a team, to have all the pieces that complement each other, and then to just navigate a season and both years we've been playing our best basketball in March. What's unfolded is historic here, but really in college basketball. I think we've been on the front end of the portal and using it to rebuild a program from scratch. We've had 18 portal players. Six each year. To build one of the best teams in the country. So I have not had time in the last three years to truly reflect. I think yesterday was my exact three-year anniversary of being hired here at TCU. And to be honest you just, you're just grinding. So at some point this off-season we all need to catch our breath. If the portal allows it. But now you guys, it's 12 months a year. You're fundraising, you're portaling, you're building a team. But the way it's set up right now, it's a relentless 12-month grind to really do it right in college athletics. Hopefully somehow that evolves and changes, but right now there's no way around it. It's just part of the job. So you guys, in this group, this group has big goals. The goal isn't get to a Sweet 16. These veterans that are up here, the way we built this team and built this roster wasn't to get to a Sweet 16, it's to keep pushing. So we're excited to see who our next opponent is. We're going to enjoy tomorrow and Tuesday. We'll get back to work. You guys, thank you for everything. Thank you for covering our program, if anybody needs any additional questions I know our time's up, I'll be out there if anybody needs anything else, but you guys, thank you for making this just a special season and Go Frogs. See new Sacramento.

I always give my assistants a special shout out, and Nolan, just did a great job preparing our team and our team defensively was locked in and was ready to go. So get some sleep, we'll see you guys in California.