Lady Frogs Open Big Weekend With Friday Tilt Against Cincinnati
1/16/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 16, 2002
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In the RPI
* TCU has continued its climb up the national RPI rankings, and is now rated 36th by CollegeRPI.com and Collegiate Basketball News and 37th according to the WBCA. All three rankings are the highest by each respective system this season.
In the Polls
* TCU has received votes in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Polls every week this season. The Frogs currently have nine votes in the AP poll (39th place) and 34 votes in the coaches' poll (31st).
TCU's New Year's Resolution - Just Win
* TCU has played well in the month of January over the last two years. The Frogs, who were a perfect 7-0 during January last year, are 4-0 this season. Last year's New Year's Day victory over Brown was the first of 11 straight victories for the Frogs.
Historic Start
* TCU's record is 12-3, which is the best 15-game start in school history. Last year's NCAA Tournament team was 11-4 through 15 games.
Born Into C-USA
* TCU is playing its third-ever Conference USA game today. Interestingly, TCU has yet to face a C-USA opponent other than Houston, the Frogs' travel partner. TCU opened the conference slate on Jan. 6 at Houston, then faced the Lady Cougars in Fort Worth on Jan. 13.
You Want Competition?
* The Frogs are 6-3 against teams that advanced to the postseason in 2001. TCU is 3-2 vs. teams that made the NCAA tourney, with wins over Southwest Missouri State, Rutgers and Arkansas and losses to Oklahoma and Oregon. Meanwhile, the Frogs are 3-1 against 2001 WNIT teams, with wins over Santa Clara and Houston (two) and a loss to BYU.
Lone Star Pride
* After dismissing Houston again on Sunday, TCU is now 5-0 against schools in Texas this season. Last year the Frogs went 8-4 against Lone Star State schools.
Tough Losses
* TCU's three losses have come against teams with a combined record of 32-13 (.711). The Frogs lost the three games by 10.3 points per contest.
You Half to Be Able to Score
* TCU has held four of its opponents to fewer than 20 points in the first half this season (Prairie View-7, Sam Houston State-13, SMS-18 and Houston-18).
Eighty Is Enough
* TCU has not allowed an opponent to score 80 points in game this season. In fact, just four TCU opponents have reached that mark in the Frogs' last 48 games, dating back to the start of the 2000-01 campaign.
The Magic Number
* TCU is 9-1 when scoring at least 70 points this season and 3-2 when falling short of the mark. In Coach Mittie's three seasons as head coach, the Frogs are 40-6 (.870) when reaching the 70-point plateau and 13-19 (.407) when failing to do so. In addition, Mittie's TCU teams are 50-6 (.893) when holding opponents under 70 points and 3-19 (.136) when allowing at least 70. TCU is 12-0 this season when holding opponents to fewer than 70 points.
Fifty Works Nifty
* TCU has limited six teams to 50 points or fewer this season (Prairie View A&M-23, SMS-44, Air Force-48, San Diego State-49, Houston-49 and Sam Houston State-50).
Rejected Time and Time Again
* TCU has recorded a C-USA-best 103 blocked shots in the first 14 games of the season (6.9 per game), including a school-record 15 against Prairie View. Last year, TCU set a school record with 136 blocks on the season (4.1 per contest).
Blocks Stack Up For Irvin
* Sandora Irvin leads the team with 42 blocked shots and broke the single-season school record with a second-half swat against Houston on Jan. 13. It took her just 15 games to surpass the previous record of 41, which was set in 32 games by Tiffany Evans in 2000-01.
Sophomore Swatter
* Sophomore forward Tiffany Evans became the school's all-time blocked shot leader on Dec. 22 with her 56th career swat. She broke the record held by former Frogs Janice Thomas and Amy Bumsted (55). It took her just 42 games to become the record holder.
Presiding on The Bench
* TCU's bench has outscored the opposing bench in 13 of 15 games this season. For the year, the Lady Frog bench leads the opposing bench 434-234. TCU's reserves score an average of 28.9 points per game, while opponents average just 15.6 points.
Don't Call It A Comeback
* TCU has yet to play in a game this season where the team that trailed at halftime has come back to win. The Frogs are 11-0 when leading at the half, 1-0 when tied at intermission and 0-3 when trailing at the midpoint.
Mighty Mittie's Milestones
* Head coach Jeff Mittie notched the 200th victory of his career against Arkansas on Dec. 29 and reached the 50-victory plateau at TCU on Jan. 1 against Montana State. He needs four victories to become the second all-time winningest coach at TCU.
Nix Picks
* Ashanti Nix is among the nation's leaders (34th) in steals per game (3.1). She recorded seven thefts against Houston on Jan. 13, tying for the fourth-most in a single game in TCU history.
It Was Re-Bound to Happen Sometime
* TCU has been outrebounded just three times this season, by Oklahoma (44-41), BYU (38-32) and Santa Clara (39-38). TCU is 11-1 when winning the battle of the boards and 1-2 when being outrebounded. On the season, TCU holds a 674-539 advantage on the glass (9.0 per game).
Playmaker 2
* Sandora Irvin, the first high school All-American to ever play for the Lady Frogs, has been impressive in her first season. She has seven double-doubles on the year and leads the team in rebounding (10.5 rpg) and blocked shots (2.8 bpg) and is second in scoring (11.8 ppg). She has topped the club in blocks in all but two games and in rebounding in all but three.
Safaritova Sparkles
* Kati Safaritova scored a career-high 29 points against Montana State on Jan. 1 and tied her second-best total (26) on Jan. 6 at Houston. Safaritova has led the team in scoring five of the last seven games and now is the team's leading scorer for the season at 13.6 points per game. She has averaged 16.3 points per contest over the last seven games. She became the first C-USA player this season to win league player of the week honors twice (Dec. 10 and Jan. 7).
Won D-M-C
* TCU had a nine-game homestand from Nov. 30 through Jan. 3, before playing at Houston on Jan. 6. The Frogs are now in the middle of three straight conference games at home, meaning that 12 of 13 games will have been played in Fort Worth. TCU is currently 10-1 (.909) at home this season and 23-5 (.821) over the last two years.
