TCU Women Get Win Over West Virginia
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FORT WORTH, Texas – Zahna Medley and Natalie Ventress combined for 34 points to help lead the TCU women’s basketball team to a 73-63 victory over West Virginia on Tuesday evening at the University Recreation Center.
The Horned Frogs claimed their first win in program history over West Virginia to improve to 16-11 overall and 8-8 in Big 12 action.
Junior guard Zahna Medley paced TCU with 19 points, going 6-of-11 from the field, including a 3-of-5 mark from 3-point range, and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line.
Senior guard Natalie Ventress hit double figures for the eighth-straight game with 15 points, staying hot from 3-point range with a perfect 4-of-4 effort from distance.
Senior forward Chelsea Prince added 11 points and a team-best eight rebounds to go with two blocks and two steals.
The Frogs led the contest from wire-to-wire, quickly jumping out to a comfortable lead by finding success driving to the bucket.
TCU took its first double-digit lead at the 9:37 mark of the first half when sophomore forward Jada Butts grabbed an offensive board and converted the putback. The Frogs would extend their lead to 26-12 on back-to-back drives from Ventress and freshman AJ Alix to cap a 10-0 run.
Medley tallied the final points of the opening half on a layup with
five seconds remaining to give TCU its first field goal since the 4:14 mark and a 39-27 halftime lead.
The Mountaineers opened the second half on a tear, quickly cutting the lead to six with a 6-0 run in the first two minutes.
Medley connected on two timely 3-point buckets early in the second half to answer the West Virginia run as the Mountaineers came as close as five points.
With the Mountaineers still within seven (53-46) at the 10:51 mark, the Frogs used a pivotal 13-1 run, keyed by long-range buckets from Prince, Medley and Ventress, to push TCU out to a commanding 66-47 lead with 7:58 left to play.
Ventress drained her season-best fourth trifecta to seal the contest with just over three minutes remaining.
TCU received significant contributions from the bench, as sophomore center Klara Bradshaw posted eight points and Butts and senior guard Donielle Breaux chipped in six points apiece.
The Frogs had an answer for West Virginia’s size, outscoring the Mountaineers in the paint by a 26-20 margin and winning the rebounding battle, 41-39.
TCU shot 48 percent (24-of-50) from the field and connected on 8-of-15 shots from 3-point range while converting 17-of-18 from the free-throw line.
The Horned Frogs return to action in the regular-season home finale at 2 p.m., on Saturday against Kansas State.
