TCU’s Ventress Earns MW Honors
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FORT WORTH, Texas – Natalie Ventress earned multiple conference honors, including being named Mountain West Freshman of the Year, the league office announced Monday.
Ventress also earned All-Mountain West First Team accolades, while senior Antoinette Thompson was an All-Mountain West Honorable Mention selection.
Ventress became the first Horned Frog to earn Mountain West Freshman of the Year since former Frog and current professional Helena Sverrisdottir did so in 2007-08. By collecting first team accolades, she not only became the first Horned Frog in program history to earn first team MW honors as a true freshman, but also the first in the Mountain West since Utah’s Kim Smith did so during her rookie campaign in 2002-03. In all, Ventress, who scored in double-figures in 11 of the 14 conference games, is the only freshman in the conference and one of only two players overall to have six games of 20 or more points during conference play.
Ventress, who currently sits No. 15 amongst all freshman scorers in the NCAA and No. 8 in conference games only, led TCU in scoring 11 times during conference play. Overall, she posted five conference games where she tallied 17-plus points and five or more rebounds in a game, including an 18-point, nine rebounding effort on the road at New Mexico on Feb. 25. She closed conference play ranking in the top-15 in the conference in seven different categories, including scoring and three-point field goals made where she ranked No. 2 in both categories with averages of 17.0 points per game and 2.4 treys made per game, respectively.
Thompson, the lone senior on this year’s squad, was TCU’s second leading scorer in conference play. She scored in double-figures in six conference games this season, which included a 20-point outing in a win over Colorado State. TCU’s leader in assists, Thompson averaged 2.7 a game in league play, ranking No. 7 in assists in the Mountain West. She totaled four rebounds or more from her point guard position in seven of the 14 MW contests.
The Horned Frogs will open the 2012 Conoco Women’s Basketball Championship Wednesday when they take on Wyoming. Tip-off is set for 4:35 p.m. CT and will mark the second-consecutive meeting between the two schools after the Frogs defeated the Cowgirls in their final regular season game, 58-48.
