Van Lith Leads No. 8 TCU to first Big 12 tournament title

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Tournament MVP Hailey Van Lith had 20 points, including a key bucket with 48.8 seconds left to give TCU a four-point lead, as 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.

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 had 11 points for the Horned Frogs.

No. 17 Baylor (27-7) was led by Aaronette Vonleh with 20 points. They also got 13 from Sarah Andrews and 12 from Yaya Felder.

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.

Aaliyah Roberson’s layup late in the second quarter gave TCU its biggest lead of the game at 30-17, the Horned Frogs led by as many 12 points in the third and Emma-Nnopu hit two free throws to make it 55-45 with seven minutes to play. Andrews scored Baylor’s first six points in a 12-2 run that tied it at 57-all when Vonleh made a layup with 3:43 to go.

Prince answered with a layup and the Bears, who committed four turnovers in the final three minutes, got no closer.

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.