The No. 3-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish arrived at the Cayman Islands Classic riding high. Fresh off an upset of the then-No. 3 USC Trojans in Los Angeles, the Irish had an argument for being the best team in the nation, and maybe having the best player in the nation.
On Friday afternoon, the No. 17-ranked TCU Horned Frogs punctured Notre Dame’s perfection and knocked them off their pedestal, coming back from 14 points to win 76-68.
However, with just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter, it appeared that the Irish were poised the cement their case of the nation’s best team. After a jumper from senior guard Olivia Miles, the Irish led by 14 points, 39-53, seeming slated to cruise to 6-0.
TCU grad guard Hailey Van Lith then responded with a jumper of her own. To that point, Van Lith had only made one field goal and scored just six points. That made shot shifted things for Van Lith, as she netted two more jumpers on the Horned Frogs’ next two possessions. Still, the Irish duo of Miles and sophomore guard Hannah Hidalgo were matching Van Lith’s flurry with scores of their own, giving the Irish an 11-point lead, 56-45, heading into the final frame.
Back-to-back triples from TCU grad guard Madison Conner to open the fourth quickly cut Notre Dame’s…
