FORT WORTH, Texas — No. 2 seed TCU punched the program’s first ticket to the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16 by defeating 7-seed Louisville 85-70 in front of a women’s basketball record crowd of 7,494 fans at Schollmaier Arena.

It’s a remarkable turnaround for a program that went 1-17 in Big 12 play two years ago. Last year, a slew of injuries prompted TCU to hold open tryouts after forfeiting two games. The team affectionately named the walk-ons the “under frogs.” This season, the Horned Frogs are Big 12 tournament champions and were undefeated at home, going 21-0.

“Schollmaier was electric for 40 minutes and we needed all of it,” said TCU coach Mark Campbell, the conference’s Coach of the Year. “So proud of this group to accomplish something that’s never been done here, men or women. To make it to the Sweet 16 is really hard to do.”

“[Campbell] took a huge risk on us, and we took a risk on this program not necessarily knowing what was going to come out of it,” said sophomore guard Donovyn Hunter, a transfer from Oregon State. “I’m not surprised at all that we’re breaking all these records. It’s a testament to the team.”

Late in the fourth quarter, TCU graduate student Hailey Van Lith looked to the ceiling of the arena with her arms outstretched as Hunter swished a corner 3-pointer. It was Van Lith’s 10th assist of the game. Van Lith spent the first three years of her career at Louisville, scoring 1,553 points for the Cardinals. The Big 12 Player and Newcomer of the Year got the best of her former team with a double-double (16 points, 10 assists).

Van Lith was emotional after the game, crying during the postgame news conference as she spoke about her faith and getting through the tough times in her career. It’s been a weekend full of emotion for the graduate student. On Saturday, while reflecting on the moments that brought her to this point, Van Lith cried tears of joy and gratitude.

“I have endured a lot over my career,” Van Lith said to ESPN. “I keep a lot of it close to my chest, but I’ve been through a lot, and to see myself reap the harvest of the hard work I’ve always put in and to be in an environment where I feel joyous every day, it does make me emotional.”

TCU was paced offensively by Agnes Emma-Nnopu with 23 points, but four starters finished the game in double figures.

“It’s really special for us to have a season that we’re having,” Emma-Nnopu said. “This is just the beginning of TCU as a program, and I think it’s going to be one of those big names in women’s basketball.”

Louisville senior guard Jayda Curry set a program record with 41 points on the night, leading all scorers.

“She was the best player on the floor,” Louisville coach Jeff Walz said. “She had an unbelievable game. I’m just really proud of her. They couldn’t stop her and it didn’t matter what they did.”

TCU will face 3-seed Notre Dame on Saturday in the Birmingham 3 Regional. The Frogs and Irish played in the Cayman Islands in November with TCU winning 76-68.