BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- TCU center Sedona Prince was a nonfactor on offense in the Horned Frogs' 58-47 loss to Texas in the Elite Eight on Monday, scoring four points before fouling out.
When asked about her performance after the game, Prince referred to it as a "full-circle moment" she was not expecting.
"I was in my head a lot," Prince said.
Prince began her career at Texas under then-coach Karen Aston as a freshman in 2018 after breaking her leg while competing for the USA U18 national team in Mexico City. She never played for Texas after undergoing multiple surgeries and setbacks caused by infections, blaming the Texas medical staff for pushing her too quickly in her rehab. Prince eventually transferred to Oregon for four seasons before moving on to TCU in 2023.
Though current Longhorns coach Vic Shaefer was not at Texas when Prince was there, playing against the Longhorns brought back memories. Monday was the first time she had played against Texas since her transfer from what she once called her "dream school." After crediting her primary defender, Taylor Jones, for her defense, Prince discussed her experience at Texas.
"To be honest, I think today was a very full-circle moment for me in a way that I wasn't expecting," Prince said through tears. "Just looking at the people that did so much damage to me at a young age was a lot and it was hard, and I thought that we had to win to prove it to them that they couldn't beat me.
"But being a part of this program and being here and succeeding and coming back and being able to play and after being told I would never walk again, and being on this team with these people, building this sisterhood, it doesn't matter.
"I won. We won, and so yeah. I think I was in my head a lot."
Jones made sure Prince would not beat the Longhorns, keeping her from getting the ball inside. Prince made only one of her four field goal attempts before fouling out with 6:32 left. The other two points came from free throws.
"I haven't got to decompress with Sedona and talk through that, but I'm sure there were a lot of emotions that were going through her head before the game and probably during," TCU coach Mark Campbell said. "I know more than anything she wanted to win not because we were playing Texas but she wanted to win because she doesn't want the journey to end with this group."
TCU made school history this season, winning the Big 12 tournament and making its first trips to the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight. But Texas challenged TCU in ways the Horned Frogs could not overcome. The Longhorns held TCU to 12 field goals in the game, while forcing 21 turnovers.
Hailey Van Lith, who has keyed TCU's run to the Elite Eight, was ineffective as well -- scoring 17 points on 3-of-15 shooting. Ten of her points came on free throws. She had seven turnovers.
"They made us uncomfortable, and kept us out of rhythm, really, for the whole game," Campbell said.
Afterward, Prince and her teammates cried on the podium as they talked about the season ending after accomplishing so much together.
"It's not what we wanted," Prince said. "We know we had a higher ceiling, but we went out with a dogfight, and we gave it our all and we fought together, we stayed together the whole game. That's what we did all season."