TCU beats Virginia in Sweet 16 behind star with goggles and former Sac State coach
Olivia Miles can really see the floor when she eyes a defense, and not because she wears goggles.
The TCU guard has that gift for the game, that instinct and feel, and that’s what has put her on the shortest list of top play-making guards in the country. The New Jersey native and transfer from Notre Dame has a flair for the game — the no-look pass, the reverse layup — and she was on full display on Saturday night at Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center as the driving force for the Horned Frogs of Texas.
Her 28 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and relentless exhibition of poised star power were paramount in No. 3-seeded TCU’s 79-69 victory over No. 10 Virginia in a Sweet 16 conquest that sends the Horned Frogs to the Elite Eight for the second straight season under coach Mark Campbell, who three seasons ago elevated sagging Sacramento State into the NCAA Tournament as a first-time entry.
The 5-foot-10 Miles dazzled and even unleashed something of a shimmy-shake dance that she downplayed as nothing special, with Campbell defending it as an “Elite Eight dance.” Such is the joy for Miles, who is in her first Elite Eight, in expressing gratitude to play for a coach who allows her to be creative and to be with a supporting cast that she calls the best in the country.
As great as Miles is, she’s not a one-person team. Marta Suarez, a 6-foot-3 forward from Spain, had a game-high 33 points to go with 10 rebounds, and Clara Silva and Taylor Bigby scored 8 points each for the Horned Frogs. Defensive dynamo Donovyn Hunter did not score, but she was superb as a stopper in helping TCU move to 32-5 in eliminating the lowest-seeded team left in the national field.
“Ultimately, I wanted to find my joy,” Miles said of her goal this season. “And that’s very broad and can happen in a lot of different ways, but the people around me have helped me to love basketball again and compete at a high level.”
Miles said she also enjoys the banter between fans, including Virginia faithful who tried to heckle with taunts that she can’t dribble or drive to the left. She can go left. She went anywhere and everywhere she wanted to go.
“I love banter like that,” Miles said with a smile. “It’s part of the game. Fans are going to be passionate. They want to win, so I love making them upset at the end of the day.”
Campbell expressed appreciation to Sacramento on his return visit to the state capital. His Horned Frogs practiced at Sac State this week, where he ran into a lot of familiar faces.
Taking a team this season with 10 new players back to the Elite Eight had the coach grinning postgame, understanding how difficult it is to achieve such feats. Campbell’s first TCU team two years ago was so thin on talent and players that he had an on-campus open tryout to bolster the roster. That group still made the NCAA Tournament.
Last year’s outfit made program history, and this one can make some more memories in Monday’s 6 p.m. showdown at Golden 1 against top-seeded South Carolina, winners of the national championship in 2017, 2022 and 2023, for a chance to reach the Final Four next week in Phoenix.
Campbell said it takes leaders to be this good, and he has a fun one in Miles.
“There are maybe five women on the planet that can do what she does, maybe even men or women,” Campbell said. “Her vision, her IQ, her understanding of the game is magical. It’s a gift that she has. It’s been really fun as a coach to put her in position and space the court and give her the freedom to do what she does. That’s just really special.”
The coach added of Suarez, who logged 40 minutes in scoring her career-high of 33: “Marta is a unicorn in her own way. She’s a rare stretch four that’s powerful and strong and can post, and then she has guard skills and can shoot 3’s. It’s been really fun trying to figure out how to create a two-man game with (Miles and Suarez).”
Campbell said the transfer portal has its issues and challenges, but it can boost programs in a hurry. TCU is proof with 18 portal additions since Campbell’s arrival, six in each of his campaigns.
“This is what you sign up for when you’re at the Power 4 level of basketball, to try to put together a roster that’s talented enough to win at the highest level, and try to do it with people that you just enjoy being around. It’s been a magical journey with this group.”
Kymora Johnson scored 18 points for Virginia, which was the first women’s team to win a First Four at-large game to get into the tournament and to reach the Sweet 16.
This story was originally published March 28, 2026 at 8:05 PM.