Charlotte GibsonMar 28, 2026, 09:52 PM ET
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- After No. 3 TCU defeated No. 10 Virginia 79-69 to reach the Elite Eight, guard Olivia Miles said coming to TCU allowed her to find her "joy back" and "love basketball again."
Miles, who transferred from Notre Dame after the 2025 season and opted to forgo the 2025 WNBA draft, said Saturday's victory represented not just her happiness for advancing beyond the Sweet 16, but it also confirmed that she made the right decision to join the Horned Frogs.
"I'm so happy about that," she said. "But no, that's just another bonus as to what I wanted to do here. I feel the people around me have helped me to love basketball again and compete at a high level and hold people accountable and challenge people and be vulnerable with people that I know love me, support me and care for me."
Miles added that the support she feels from the TCU program has "helped me with my own confidence, so that's all I could ask for."
In Saturday night's win, Miles recorded 28 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, falling shy of becoming the first woman in Division I history with three career NCAA tournament triple-doubles. Miles has 12 triple-doubles for her career, the third most in Division I history, trailing only Sabrina Ionescu (26) and Caitlin Clark (17).
Miles signed with the Horned Frogs as a transfer in April 2025. She had been a projected lottery pick in the 2025 WNBA draft, but after receiving an extra year of eligibility due to sitting out the 2023-24 season because of an ACL injury, Miles opted to finish her career at TCU.
Miles started 34 games and averaged a career-high 15.4 points on 48.3% shooting as a junior at Notre Dame. During her time there, she helped the Irish become the top-ranked team in the AP poll before Notre Dame fell apart in the semifinals of the ACC tournament against Duke and lost in the Sweet 16 to TCU.
Horned Frogs head coach Mark Campbell, who is in his third year in Fort Worth, said he has been intentional about how he builds his roster and relies on the transfer portal to obtain standout players such as Miles.
"I think it's really hard in today's landscape of college athletics because of the portal, because of NIL and all the variables. We try really hard to create an environment where young people can blossom and flourish and enjoy the game of basketball," Campbell said. "We try to be very intentional with that."
This season, 10 members on TCU's roster are transfers, including Miles. After taking over, Campbell quickly turned a forgotten Big 12 program into an NCAA tournament contender.
"We've built our program literally all through the portal," Campbell said. "I think we've had 18 portal players, six each year. And our program's come a long ways. There's a lot of negative you hear about the portal. I think there's a lot of positive, too."
He added, "It's great to win at a high level, but if you can enjoy the journey and win at a high level, then it's really special."
Against Virginia, Miles and teammate Marta Suarez scored or assisted on all 79 points for the Horned Frogs. At the start of the second half, TCU went on a 17-4 run to take control of the game. Virginia's defense couldn't recover against Miles and Suarez, ultimately leading to the Cavaliers' defeat.
"Olivia Miles, she's a triple-double-type kid," Virginia head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton said. "She's really hard to guard. They put her in ball screens, multiple ball screens, sometimes in possession. ... She just got away from us. But she's a phenomenal player. I don't know if you really stop her. We were just trying to limit some of the things she wanted to do."
The Horned Frogs' run to the Elite Eight last year was the deepest in program history. TCU will take on South Carolina in the Elite Eight on Monday night.
