A contested close-range attempt from Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s Jailah Pelly grazed off the rim. Olivia Miles leaped from the low block and pulled down the rebound with her right hand. Miles started up the floor. A whistle blew. Timeout.

In exhaustion and exaltation, the two-time All-American bent over at midcourt, pulling her jersey over her face, as the home crowd rose to its feet.

By the 3:27 mark of the fourth quarter in Tuesday night’s 109-54 blowout of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Miles had compiled 25 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds to secure her third straight triple-double and the ninth of her collegiate career, tying her for third all-time in NCAA history. Only four-time All-WNBA guard Sabrina Ionescu and two-time AP Player of the Year Caitlin Clark have recorded more.

Already subbed out and applauding from the bench was graduate forward Marta Suárez, who on the same night posted 20 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds for her first career triple-double. The pair made NCAA history: never before had two teammates both achieved the feat in the same game against a Division I opponent.

Olivia Miles, left, and Marta Suárez, right, became the first teammates in NCAA history to record triple-doubles in the same game against a Division I opponent during a Dec. 16 win against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Courtesy of TCU Athletics

“This stuff doesn’t happen,” head coach Mark Campbell said after the game. “This is not normal. But I’m loving it.”

For Miles, the accomplishment was secondary to simply staying on the court. After multiple injury-plagued seasons at Notre Dame, the graduate transfer has found a new appreciation for being on the floor.

“I’m satisfied because I’m healthy at the end of every game,” Miles said. “It doesn’t matter if I have zero points or 25 points. Being hurt has taught me to value each possession, each game, and if I make it through 40 minutes healthy, it’s a win for me. These things are just bonuses.”

Those bonuses are piling up at the perfect time. But Miles and Suárez aren’t the only ones thriving. Production across the roster, along with the on-and off-the-court chemistry, just a dozen games in, has been impressive. For Suárez, sharing the historic night with Miles made the moment even sweeter.

“To be able to do it with her makes it so much more special,” Suárez said. “She’s just such a good teammate and such a good friend. I love her to death.”

With Saturday’s Big 12 opener against Kansas State looming, the Horned Frogs seem to have found their stride, if they ever lost it at all. The win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff counted for ninth-ranked TCU’s 25th in 26 games dating back to early February of last season.

The loss that immediately preceded that dominant stretch? Kansas State.

What will we see against the Wildcats?

One of only two Big 12 opponents to defeat TCU across the Frogs’ 21 regular-season and conference tournament contests in 2024-25, Kansas State has stumbled out of the starting blocks in 2025-26.

With last year’s second-leading scorer Serena Sundell on to the WNBA and 2024-25 All-Big 12 forward Temira Poindexter having graduated, the Wildcats sit only a game over .500 at 7-6, with non-Power 4 losses to South Dakota, South Dakota State, Green Bay and San Diego State. Even still, Campbell warns against taking unranked K-State lightly. The Wildcats were able to rally from a fourth-quarter deficit to down No. 14 Ole Miss, 61-60, on Dec. 7, a result that stands as the Rebels’ lone defeat of the season.

“Coach [Jeff] Mittie’s an elite college basketball coach,” Campbell said of the former longtime TCU head coach. “He maximizes his group every year. This year, they changed their style of play a little bit. Obviously, they had Ayoka Lee over the last couple of years, and she was one of the most dominant centers in college basketball. And so, he’s been in the league a long time. He knows the Big 12. He is gonna have his group locked in and ready to go.”

TCU should have reinforcements coming into the conference opener. Campbell said the team expects to have graduate guard Maddie Scherr back in the lineup Saturday after she sat out Tuesday night’s win. Kennedy Basham’s status remains up in the air after the senior center hurt her left ankle in the second half. She ended the game on the bench, an ice pack wrapped around it. 

“My guess is she tweaked it and she’ll be fine,” Campbell said.

Should Basham be limited or unable to go, expect an expanded role for graduate forward Natalie Mazurek, who played a season-high 11 minutes against the Golden Lions on Tuesday.

Donovyn Hunter has hit at least one three-pointer in each of TCU’s 12 games this season, reaching double figures in all but two contests. Courtesy of TCU Athletics

Elsewhere for the Horned Frogs, keep an eye on junior guard Donovyn Hunter, who is playing efficient basketball to spark a career season to date. The Oregon native’s nightly averages of 14 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.8 steals are all personal bests, as are her 52.4 percent field-goal rate, 41.4 percent mark from three-point range and 77.8 percent rate from the free-throw line.

First tip Saturday is set for 4 p.m. at Schollmaier Arena.

“It is a great opportunity, December 20, to come pack the Scholl,” Campbell said, “and make sure this team and this group has a great crowd to get the Big 12 season started. I know Fort Worth will show out, they have. But let’s get this party started this Saturday.”

— Corey Zapata-Smith