Wednesday, January 30, 2008
TCU women’s basketball dominates UNLV
TCU continued its road momentum Tuesday with a 56-38 win over UNLV at Cox Pavilion. The Lady Frogs grabbed 22 offensive rebounds to help earn their second consecutive victory on the road.
TCU improved to 11-9 overall, including 4-2 in Mountain West Conference play. UNLV dropped to 6-13 overall and 2-4 in MWC games.
TCU built up a 17-point lead in the second half thanks to strong rebounding and defensive efforts. The Frogs, who posted a 48-39 advantage on the boards, also held the Rebels to only 30.0 percent shooting from the field.
Five Frogs finished with at least five rebounds, including Jenna Lohse, who set a career high by pulling down 10 boards. Eight came on the offensive end for the senior forward, who also scored four points.
Helen Roden and Helena Sverrisdottir each scored 11 points to lead TCU's scoring attack. Both Frogs were also strong on the glass, pulling down nine and seven boards, respectively. Lorie Butler-Rayford chipped in 10 points and six rebounds.
The Frogs were able to hold the MWC's leading scorer, Sequoia Holmes, below her season average with 13 points, although Holmes did pull down 12 boards. Brittany Halberg went for nine points and six rebounds, while Shamela Hampton and Latoya Hunt each finished with four blocks.
Neither team lit up the scoreboard early in the opening half, but both squads hit the offensive boards hard with five offensive rebounds each in the game's first eight minutes.
TCU trailed early, 9-7, before turning hot from outside the arc to build its first substantial lead. Roden started the flurry with a trey, and Moneka Knight followed two possessions later with another. Sverrisdottir pushed the run to 9-0 with a third 3-pointer in less than two minutes on the following possession to push the lead to seven points, 16-9. The Frogs held the Rebels scoreless for a 6:40 stretch during the run.
The Frogs were not finished from outside, as Emily Carter and Adrianne Ross each added treys to push the advantage to 12 points, 24-12, with about four and one-half minutes remaining.
While TCU found its shooting touch, the squad's defense was equally as strong. UNLV's scoreless stretch ended at the foul line, but the Frogs still held the Rebels without a field goal for more than 10 minutes until Dominique Harris sank a jumper with just over three minutes remaining in the half. TCU out-scored the Rebels 17-3 during the stretch.
Roden cashed in TCU's sixth 3 of the first half to make the score 27-16 with just over two minutes remaining. Overall, the Frogs went 6-of-14 from 3-point range in the opening period. They recorded more field goals from outside than inside the arc (four).
Leading by eight, 30-22, early in the second half, TCU put together an 11-2 run over five minutes to push out to a 17-point lead. Lohse came up big during the stretch with two key putbacks off Frog misses after Butler-Rayford was hacked on a layup for a conventional 3-point play.
UNLV managed to cut the lead to single digits, 45-37, with under three minutes remaining, but Sverridsottir helped the Frogs curb the Rebel threat with a 3 at the two-minute mark.
TCU completes its two-game road swing Saturday, when it visits Colorado Springs, Colo., to take on Air Force. Tip-off at the Falcons' Clune Arena is scheduled for 3 p.m. CST.
Source: TCU
