TCU Women Fall To Texas A&M
{fshare id=1989}
FORT WORTH, Texas – TCU pulled within seven in the second half Sunday, but came up short against No. 7 Texas A&M, falling in front of the ninth largest crowd in Daniel-Meyer Coliseum history, 68-53.
The Horned Frogs, now 4-5 on the year, battled the defending national champions throughout the day, hounding the Aggies with scrappy defense and hustle en route to forcing Texas A&M (7-2) into 24 turnovers.
In a game that was closer then the final score indicated, TCU pulled within 10 points at the 5-minute mark of the second half on a lay-up by Ashley Colbert, but the Aggies were able to hold on during the latter stages of the game, knocking down some key shots to halt the upset attempt by the Purple and White. Overall, the Frogs, who cut the Aggie lead to single digits continuously throughout the second half, couldn’t overcome a sizeable rebound advantage for Texas A&M, even though TCU outscored the Aggies off the bench, 34-17.
In front of 4,554 spectators, sophomore Briesha Wynn had her best outing of the season, scoring a career-high 14 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field. Chelsea Prince, who captured Mountain West Player of the Week accolades a week ago, also had a solid day, scoring 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor. The freshman, who scored all 10 points in the second half, also tallied five boards and seven steals, which ranks No. 6 all-time in program history for most steals in a single-game by a TCU player. In all, she was only one steal away from tying the DMC record of eight, which was set by Emma Wilson in 1996.
The Aggies had three players score in double-figures Sunday with both Adaora Elonu and Sydney Carter, tallying 15 points apiece, respectively. Elonu also posted a game and season-high 12 boards against the Frogs. Kelsey Bone rounded out the Aggie players in double-figures, recording 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting.
Antoinette Thompson got the Frogs rolling early in the second on a running
floater, which brought the score to 28-21, but the Texas A&M answered right back with eight-straight points to push the score to 36-21.
Wynn tried to rally the Frogs on both ends of the court three minutes into the second half, scoring and grabbing a steal to ignite the Purple and White. A few possessions later, Prince and Colbert both found the bottom of the net on consecutive trips and the Frogs pulled within 10 at the 14:29 mark.
Prince got defensive halfway through the period, denying an Aggie and going coast-to-coast to make the score 46-33 in favor of Texas A&M. The freshman then connected on a triple and the Frogs were in business at 46-36 halfway through the half.
A 10-2 run by the Frogs, which was aided by exceptional defense that forced the Aggies into five turnovers during that stretch of play, made the score 48-39 with 8:42 left to go in the game when Thompson scored on running lay-up. Momentum was definitely in TCU’s favor in front of a rocking crowd at the DMC, but the Aggies put an end to the excitement until Prince powered her way to a tough three-point play with 7 minutes to go in the contest.
Whitney Williams would dial it up from deep with a little over 2 minutes remaining in the game to bring TCU within 12 at 62-50, but that was as close as the Frogs would come down the stretch.
With the Aggies up 6-0, Meagan Henson found Williams wide open in the corner, who dropped a trey to bring the Frogs within three early. Wynn brought TCU within one a few moments later, skying to the bucket for two at the 15-minute mark.
Williams then found Colbert down low after driving the lane to make the score 14-7 and the Frogs put a halt to a 9-0 run for the Aggies midway through the first half. Following a steal, Wynn drove the length of the floor and connected on a pull-up jumper to bring TCU within nine with 6 minutes, 57 seconds remaining in the opening frame.
Delisa Gross would make the score 22-12 a few moments later, tickling the twine from out top at the 4:23 mark of the half. Colbert then boarded a Gross miss the next trip down the court and TCU was within eight late in the opening frame.
Following a drive by Wynn, the sophomore found Williams in the corner for a deep three and the Frogs were only down 28-19 going into the break.
TCU will have a week off before hosting Sam Houston State on Sunday, Dec. 18 at 5:00 p.m. CT.
