FORT WORTH, TX. – FDU women's basketball's historic season ended in the first round of the NCAA Championship on Friday afternoon. The #15 Knights fell 73-51 to #2 TCU.
The outsized Knights put forth a valiant effort.
Teneisia Brown connected on two of her first three attempts and gave FDU an early 4-1 lead. The Horned Frogs climbed ahead 8-6 right before the media timeout. On the first possession out of the break,
Lilly Parke drilled a three and gave the Knights a 9-8 lead. This Parke three ignited an 11-4 FDU run that included points from four different players. They led 17-14 at the end of the first quarter.
TCU quickly regained the lead in the second quarter, but
Ava Renninger punched back with a layup to put FDU ahead 21-19. TCU extended their lead to three two more times in the first portion of the second quarter, but FDU refused to let them pull away. A
Bella Toomey jumper brought them to within one at 26-25. An unfortunate cold stretch stole the Knights momentum. They were held to just two points in the final 5:24 of the second quarter and trailed 35-27 at halftime.
The Horned Frogs would pull away in the second half, but the Knights trailed by just 12 midway through the third quarter and remained within 15 at the end of the period.
Brown put the finishing touches on a stellar season with 18 points on the big stage today. Rookie of the Year
Ava Renninger scored 12 points in her NCAA tournament debut.
Despite playing in a raucous road environment, the Knights were extremely poised. They committed 11 turnovers throughout the game, while the home team committed 15. The undersized Knights were outrebounded by a slim margin of nine.
This FDU team goes out as the winningest in program history and the first to ever play in the NCAA tournament.
Connect with FDU Women's Basketball on X and Instagram, @FDUKnightsWBB.
Segovia Steakhouse is the presenting sponsor of the 2024-25 FDU Women's Basketball season.
