TCU Women Score 79-71 Victory Over Colorado State
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FORT WORTH, Texas – TCU simply couldn’t miss during stages of the game Saturday, shooting a blistering 50 percent from the field en route to a 79-71 victory over Colorado State at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
The Horned Frogs, now 8-9 on the year and 1-1 in conference play, caught fire early on Saturday, cashing in from all over the court, which helped the Frogs jump all over the Rams early, cruising to a 15-0 lead from the opening tip. When it was all said-and-done, TCU never trailed in the game, thanks in large part to some streaky shooting and all-out hustle that helped the Purple and White record a 33-29 advantage in rebounds.
The Frogs could not be stopped from behind the arc during the first half, ripping the nets for a season-high 58.3 percent on 7-of-12 shooting in the opening frame. During the first half alone, TCU, who led by as many as 18 Saturday, shot 56.7 percent from the field. In all, the Purple and White connected on a season-high 12 three-pointers Saturday, which totaled 48 percent for the game. Overall, the Frogs’ 12 three-pointers is tied for No. 5 all-time in program history for three-point field goals made in a single-game. The 12 triples were also the most since TCU connected on 12-made three’s last season against Oral Roberts and ties the DMC record for most three-pointers made in a single-game.
Antoinette Thompson did most of the damage from deep, going 3-of-4 from three-point land en route to a 20-point outing on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor. Freshman Natalie Ventress was just as dangerous, scoring 20 points on 6-of-14 shooting, including 3-of-6 from behind the arc. Junior Whitney Williams rounded out the top-performers for the Frogs Saturday with a new career-high of 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field. In all, the junior posted new career-highs in field goals made with five and three’s made by going 4-of-7 from behind the line.
Colorado State, who is now 5-12 on the year and 1-1 in conference play, was led by Sam Martin, who tallied a game-high 28 points on 11-of-17 shooting. LaDeyah Forte scored 17 points, while Preseason Conference Player of the Year Kim Mestdagh was limited to only 13 points.
Just like they did during the first half, the Frogs were simply on fire from deep as Briesha Wynn nailed a trey from the top of the key on the opening possession to push the score back to 10 at 48-38. Ventress would connect on two-straight triples a couple of trips later and the Frogs appeared to be in business, climbing to a 54-44 advantage. Williams would rattle off her fourth and final three of the game at the 16:01 mark of the second half to make the score 57-45.
The Frogs would roll up the next five points, which included a steal and score from Thompson to appear
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to put the game out of reach at 62-47 with a little over 12 minutes remaining in the contest. In all, Chelsea Prince’s all-out hustle at the 10-minute mark to save a loose ball exemplified the type of all-out effort the Frogs gave on Saturday afternoon.
Colorado State would pull within 12 halfway through the second half, but Delisa Gross powered home a
jumper to halt the Rams for the time being. CSU would close the gap to eight at 71-63 with 1:43 left, but Williams and company were able to knock down some late free throws to move the Horned Frogs to 1-1 in conference play.
The Frogs got right to work on the offensive end of the court, jumping out to a 15-0 lead early, which included a pair of nice three-pointers from Thompson and Williams off some great ball movement. TCU then went to work with some smothering defense, forcing Colorado State into four turnovers in the first 5 minutes of the game. In all, CSU didn’t even make its first field goal of the game until the 15:42 mark of the opening frame.
Latricia Lovings’ put back off an offensive rebound made the score 13-0 and Wynn then stole the rock to bring the score to 15-0 in favor of the Purple and White.
Simply put, the Frogs were unconscious from deep to start the game, going 5-of-6 from behind the arc as Williams and Thompson both connected twice from three during the early stages of the game.
With TCU up 21-13, Williams would continue her hot shooting from deep on yet another triple from the left side of the court to give TCU a comfortable 11-point advantage after CSU had crawled its way back into the game with an 8-0 run.
Colorado State would nail two-straight three-pointers to continue to inch closer and pull within 25-18 at the 10:18 mark of the first half until Meagan Henson drew the defense and found Gross wide open in the corner to push the Frog lead back to 10 at 28-18.
The two teams would trade possessions down the stretch until Ventress scored on two-straight trips, which included the freshman following her own miss and hustling home a uncontested layup in the closing seconds. On the very next possession, Wynn dialed it up from three to beat the shot clock and make the halftime score, 45-36, in favor of the Horned Frogs.
TCU will take on UNLV next Wednesday night at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. CT from Fort Worth.
