TCU Women Down UTSA

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FORT WORTH, Texas – TCU, who led by as many as 28 points midway through the second half Wednesday, fended off a late rally by UTSA to capture a 73-64 victory at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.

The Horned Frogs, now winners of three-straight, improved to 4-2 with the win, while the Roadrunners dropped to 5-4 overall. On the night, TCU shot 50 percent from the field during the first half and appeared to bust the game wide open on a 15-0 run between the end of the first and start of the second half, but a hot shooting performance by Simone Young ignited a furious comeback by UTSA. During the first half alone, Young scored 20 of the Roadrunners 26 points. The Frogs were able to limit the sharp shooter in the second period to only nine points.

On the night, TCU, who out-rebounded UTSA 47-43, was once again led by Natalie Ventress. The sophomore scored a team-high 18 points on 5-off-11 shooting. Ashley Colbert was the only other Frog in double-figures with 11 points on 3-of-3 shooting from the field. The Fort Worth native was also a perfect 5-of-5 from the line.

Young led the way for UTSA, scoring a game-high 29 points on 11-of-29 shooting, including 7-of-16 from behind the arc. Her seven three’s tied the previous DMC record of seven, which was set by Shaye Montgomery of Texas A&M Corpus Christi in 2010.

Kamy Cole and Zahna Medley would both nail it from deep during the opening stages of the second half and the route appeared to be on as the Frogs jumped all the way out to a 50-26 advantage. During that stretch, TCU held the Roadrunners without a bucket for almost seven minutes of action between the end of the first half and the beginning of the second period. In all, the Frogs went on a 15-0 run between the two halves.

Following back-to-back buckets by Cole and Ventress, TCU moved comfortably in front at 56-31. The Fort Worth native would push it to 61-33 a few trips later, draining a trey from the left side of the court.

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UTSA would continue to battle though, pulling within 19 at 61-40, midway through the second half, but

Chelsea Prince’s teardrop with 9:55 showing on the clock ended the 7-0 Roadrunner run.

TCU clung to a 66-54 lead with a little over 5 minutes remaining in the contest as the Frogs could not put away the pesky Roadrunners, who were in the midst of a 22-7 run.

UTSA would continue to put the pressure on the Frogs down the stretch, pulling within six at 70-64, but that was as close as the Roadrunners would get. With the win, TCU captured its fifth-straight victory in the all-time series.

Medley got the Frogs going on the very first possession, drilling a trey from the top of the key off an assist from Latricia Lovings. A couple of trips later, Lovings worked her way into the scoring act, knocking down a tough three-point play two minutes into the contest.

The Frogs jumped on top quickly during the opening stages of the game thanks in large part to their intensity on the defensive end of the court, going up early 10-0. During that stretch, TCU forced four turnovers, while also limiting the Roadrunners to only five shot attempts.

By the time Ventress tickled the twine from the wing at the 13:59 mark of the first half, the Frogs were up 15-3, shooting 60 percent from the field. UTSA would cut it to 19-16 going on a 15-4 run, which was spearheaded by Young’s 4-of-8 from deep, but Colbert would have nothing of it, powering home an old fashion three-point play halfway through the opening frame.

With the score 22-19, Veja Hamilton went to work, scoring the Frogs next four points to give the Purple and White a five-point lead at the 8:20 mark of the first half. TCU would push it to 28-22 a few moments later and the Frogs appeared to be in business as senior Whitney Williams helped ignite a 7-0 run off a three with a little over five minutes remaining in the first half.

Down the stretch, Hamilton crossed a Roadrunner over and found Lovings down low, while a Cole bucket in the closing seconds helped give TCU a 40-26 lead at the break.

The Frogs will next be in action Saturday at Texas A&M. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m. CT from College Station.