Fairleigh Dickinson coach Stephanie Gaitley took a timeout with 1:13 left and called her team into a huddle. 

She wanted her team to savor this moment. 

The team wrapped their arms around one another like a big group hug.

There weren’t any visible tears but plenty of smiles — regardless of the lopsided score that didn’t favor the Knights on the scoreboard. 

Fairleigh Dickinson made history this season, setting a program record in wins (29) and making the Knights’ first NCAA Tournament appearance. 

But their historic season came to an end Friday when second-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 the team with 18 points and four rebounds. Freshman Ava Renninger added 12 points, three assists and two rebounds. 

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In the end, though, this never was Fairleigh Dickinson’s game to win but rather TCU’s to lose. 

The Horned Frogs, who will play Louisville in the second round, are 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 game. 

TCU was too big, too long and too talented for Fairleigh Dickinson to keep up with. 

In Gaitley’s first NCAA Tournament appearance with Richmond back in 1990, she remembered the team being so happy to be there that it didn’t put up much of a fight. 

But Fairleigh Dickinson gave it the old college try. 

The Knights outscored TCU 17-14 in the first quarter and made Mark Campbell’s squad sweat. 

But TCU started to pull away in the second quarter, 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. 

“We played a really, really good TCU team,” Gaitely said. “Mark’s done an incredible job here in turning this program around. And they’ve got some really, really talented players, and you can see their experience really paid off.” 

Friday marked TCU’s first NCAA Tournament win in 19 years.

The Horned Frogs advanced to the second round and will play the winner of the Louisville-Nebraska game Sunday. 

Ultimately, the Knights’ story ends in the first round.

Friday’s loss snapped Fairleigh Dickinson’s program-best 22-game winning streak. 

“I couldn’t be more proud of what we did today [and] obviously what they’ve done all year,” Gaitley said. “I told them they’re gonna have some time to reflect on it because we’ve made Hackensack history.”