TCU Women's Basketball: Recap vs. Oklahoma State
TCU’s Lauren Heard and Tavy Diggs scored 20 points each and helped guide the Horned Frogs out of a 14-point deficit, enroute to a 64-63 Big 12 Conference home win over the Oklahoma State Cowgirls Wednesday evening at Schollmaier Arena.
Diggs added 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season and Heard was 8-of-11 from the free-throw line – which included her game-winning free throw with just 2.9 seconds left in the contest.
Coach Raegan Pebley stated at the post game press conference, "Tavy is Tavy. We know what kind of player she is, and what she can do. She is really coming into her own."
Lauren Heard talked about her game winning free throw post game. She stated, " Just to make the free throw. I heard everyone cheering me on, so it gave me more confidence to ice the game." She did that indeed as her and her teammates were able to celebrate a comeback victory at home.
TCU owned the second half, erasing a 14-point deficit and then when finally taking the lead, never giving it back up. OSU lead 41-27 with 8:33 left to play in the third quarter, but Diggs and Heard managed to score 14 of TCU’s final 16 points of the frame in which the Horned Frogs closed with a 16-5 run.
The Horned Frogs took a 51-50 lead into the fourth quarter and despite OSU never completely being out of it, TCU’s defense did not allow the Cowgirls to retake a lead. OSU tied the game at 54-all and later 63-63, but turnovers plagued the visiting team down the stretch and TCU managed to make just enough free throws to come away with the one-point victory.
TCU used the same starting line-up it introduced for the first time on Monday with: Okako Adika, Yummy Morris, Tavy Diggs, Aja Holmes and Lauren Heard. Coach talked about the slow starts the team has at the beginning of games. Versus Oklahoma State they started behind 12-2 early in the first quarter. Versus Kansas they got behind early by a 10 point margin. This team has the talent beat anyone. They are just playing to timid. Coach Pebley stated, "We have our five best scorers starting, so I don't know what to tell you. We just have to keep mixing things up." That she is, and you can tell the girls are getting their rhythm back.
Diggs set a new season-high with 20 points, just two points shy of her career-high mark of 22 points. Her 11 rebounds tied both a season and career-high (11, at Tulane). Diggs set a new career-high with six steals, surpassing her previous high mark of three steals that she posted against UNC earlier this season. Diggs notched her second double-double of the season and first since a 15-point/11-rebound effort at Tulane on Nov. 17. Diggs led the team in assists for a third time this season, notching five assists on the night.
Heard hit the 20-point mark for the fourth time this season and for the 33rd time in her career. Heard, who moved up to No. 3 all-time in career scoring at TCU, now has 1,786 career points – now just 106 points behind Sandora Irvin’s total of 1,892 points. Heard drained eight free throws on the evening, including a game winning free throw giving her 548 career free throws made, which is just four shy of breaking into the Big 12’s all-time top-10 list. Since 2000, Heard has made the seventh-most free throws in a career among players in the Big 12.
Adika scored 15 points in the game, giving her a 21.0 points-per-game average over the past two games. It also marks the second time this season that two players have scored 20 points or more in a game.
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