Women's Basketball: TCU Drops Second Consecutive Home Game

The TCU women’s basketball team never fully recovered from poor shot selection and a slow start in a 60-54 loss against Sam Houston State (SHSU) on Wednesday.

The Horned Frogs (2-3 overall) shot 6-of-29 (20.6%) from the field in the first half and finished 18-of-57 (31.6%) overall. The team also missed 11 free throws.

“We opened the game today with some really bad shots offensively,” TCU head coach Raegan Pebley said. “That set a tone for us that we didn’t really bounce back from well.”

Guard Tomi Taiwo led TCU in scoring for the fourth straight game with 14 points, including 4-of-8 from the three-point line. Guard Paige Bradley and forward Lucy Ibeh each added 10 points coming off the bench. Ibeh also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.

For the second straight game, the Horned Frogs found a rhythm during the fourth quarter and attempted a comeback. Bradley’s three-pointer followed by a 15-foot jumper sparked a 10-1 run. Guard Emily Fisher tied the game at 46 on a lay-up with 6:16 left.

SHSU (2-3 overall) outscored TCU 9-3 over the next five minutes. Bradley sank another 3-pointer with 1:23 left to make the score 55-52.

“We knew we didn’t come out with the energy we wanted to start with,” Bradley said. “We just wanted to fight back and try to get the win. We have a lot of resilience.”

Bearkats guard Chyna Allen took back the momentum on the next possession by driving into the paint, making a lay-up, drawing a foul, and converting the free throw.

Allen and forward Madelyn Batista had 16 points apiece to pace the Bearkats. They played an instrumental role in SHSU outscoring TCU 40-12 inside the paint.

“They scored way too many points in the paint,” Pebley said. “We’re putting a lot of pressure on our post players to have to not only guard their player, but (also) guard penetration.”

SHSU guards Kaylee Jefferson and Mikayla Eddins each put up 10 points and got several easy lay ups off the dribble penetration.

The Bearkats controlled the game from the opening tip, taking a 10-3 lead midway through the first quarter. Ibeh’s lay-up with 1:39 left tied the score at 10, but Allen scored a transition lay-up before the quarter ended.

SHSU extended the lead to 31-18 lead before Taiwo nailed a three-pointer that helped cut the halftime deficit to 31-22.

Pebely said the loss provided several growth opportunities and the Horned Frogs must take advantage of them.

“This is a team I have a lot of confidence and faith in if we can really learn from these situations,” she said.

TCU will finish a four-game home stretch against the University of Incarnate Word at 12pm on Tuesday, November 29.

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