Fairleigh Dickinson coach Stephanie Gaitley took a timeout with 1:13 remaining and called her team into a huddle.
The team wrapped their arms around one another like a big group hug.
She wanted her team to savor this moment.
Fairleigh Dickinson made history this season, setting a program record in wins (29) and making the Knights’ first NCAA Tournament appearance.
But their historic year ended Friday when No. 2-seeded TCU took down 15th-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson 73-51 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Knights put up a valiant effort.
Senior Teneisia Brown led them with 18 points and four rebounds.
Freshman Ava Renninger added 12 points, three assists and two rebounds.
In the end, though, this was never Fairleigh Dickinson’s game to win but TCU’s to lose.
The Horned Frogs have one of the oldest rosters in college basketball, and their star guard, Hailey Van Lith, leads the nation in March Madness games played, with Friday being her 18th.
TCU had size, length and experience that Fairleigh Dickinson couldn’t match.
But the Knights gave it the old college try.
They outscored TCU 17-14 in the first quarter and made Mark Campbell’s squad sweat in the second quarter.
TCU started to pull away in the second, taking a 35-27 lead at the half.
The Knights ultimately missed too many shots and the Horned Frogs’ defense flustered them, forcing them into back-to-back shot clock violations at one point in the third quarter.
Ultimately, the Knights’ story ends in the first round.
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