Forty minutes. That’s all head coach Mark Campbell promised his team. So he put the number on their jerseys — front and back, in practice all week — and let it do the talking. 

On Friday morning at Schollmaier Arena, TCU made every one of those minutes count, routing UC San Diego 86-40 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. In what Campbell would call her best game as a Horned Frog, three-time All-American Olivia Miles delivered her sixth triple-double this season — 12 points, 14 assists and a career-high 16 rebounds — becoming the first player in NCAA history to record at least 14 rebounds and 14 assists in a tournament game. For good measure, she pulled even with former Horned Frog Hailey Van Lith atop the program’s single-season scoring list, finishing with 680 points.

Senior guard Taylor Bigby torched the Tritons for a career-high 27 points on 7-of-9 shooting from three. TCU never trailed. The result pushed TCU to a 43rd straight home win, the longest streak in the country, and kept the program perfect at Schollmaier Arena in postseason play at 11-0.

Taylor Bigby went 7-for-9 from three-point range en route to a career-high 27 points during TCU’s 86-40 win against UC San Diego in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday. Courtesy of TCU Athletics

The tone was set before UCSD could catch its breath. Graduate forward Marta Suárez went 3-for-3 from three-point range in the opening quarter, hitting from 23, 25 and 24 feet, as TCU bolted to a 24-12 lead after the first period. The Horned Frogs shot 50 percent from three for the game, finishing 13-of-26 from deep.

Then came Bigby. In a second quarter that put the game away, she erupted for four consecutive three-pointers, three of them fed by Miles, extending TCU’s lead to 29. When her fourth straight three dropped through the net, her teammates sprinted to half court to meet her. She finished 8-of-10 from the field.

“Seeing Taylor in the gym every day, working on those shots, those very shots,” Miles said, “to see it come out when it actually matters, you can’t help but be happy for that person.”

Campbell called it earned. “It’s been two years now. … Her teammates have seen her grind, and she’s amazing. Her and Dono [Donovyn Hunter] are the backbone and the staples of the last two years.”

Miles, meanwhile, wasn’t playing for the box score. “I literally told Mark, I was like, ‘If I go out there and I have zero points and 20 assists, I’ll be just as happy,’ ” she said. “That’s just what I love to do.” But then: “Once I heard that I had 10 rebounds early on, I was like, ‘Okay. I have to complete it now.’ ”

She did. “To break our all-time single-game assist record while having a triple-double during March Madness,” Campbell said. “Holy cow.”

Olivia Miles’ historic triple-double Friday included 12 points, a career-high 16 rebounds and 14 assists. Courtesy of TCU Athletics

Miles set the physical tone from the opening tip. “I promised myself that I’d help my team out in any way that I can, and I know that it starts with me,” she said.

The defensive wall TCU erected was equally formidable. Sophomore center Clara Silva and senior center Kennedy Basham combined for five blocks, anchoring a scheme built around the program’s extraordinary length. “Those two have become just an incredible two-headed monster,” Campbell said. “When you have two 6-7 kids like that, it’s really hard to score over them.” Campbell believes that size advantage only grows in March. “You got to defend and rebound to win,” he said.

Also Friday, Washington defeated South Dakota State 72-54 in the first round. Guard Avery Howell connected on 7-of-13 three-point attempts for a game-high 30 points. The Huskies will face TCU on Sunday at Schollmaier Arena at 9 p.m. CT. 

For Miles and Suárez, playing out their final seasons in Fort Worth, Sunday’s matchup will be their last chance to suit up at Schollmaier — a TCU victory would send the Horned Frogs to Sacramento for the next two rounds. “That’s 40 down,” Campbell said. “We got 40 left.” 

“We haven’t put together a full 40 minutes of TCU basketball this season,” Miles said, “and even though Mark may say we did today, I do think there’s a whole other level we can get to.”