Lady Frogs to Open Up Conference Slate at Houston
1/4/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 4, 2002
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Playing 'Em Close
* After not playing in a game decided by fewer than 10 points in their first eight games, TCU has now been involved in four close contests in their last five outings. The Lady Frogs defeated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 62-56 on Dec. 18, lost to BYU 74-71 on Dec. 22, beat Arkansas 60-58 on Dec. 29 and downed Santa Clara 76-66 on Jan. 3.
Tough Stretch
* Here are the current records of the first four conference opponents for the Lady Frogs. The teams are a combined 36-9, for a winning percentage of .800.
Opponent-Game Date (Record)
Houston-Jan. 6 (9-3)
Houston-Jan. 13 (9-3)
Cincinnati-Jan. 18 (11-0)
Louisville-Jan. 20 (7-3)
'Tis the Season
* 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 2-0 this season. Last year's New Year's Day victory over Brown was the first of 11 straight victories for the Frogs.
Looking to Match History
* A TCU victory would put the Frogs' record at 11-3, matching the best 14-game start in school history. TCU has only started a season 11-3 one time in school history (1997-98). That squad opened with a 11-3 mark before finishing with a 13-15 record. Last year's NCAA Tournament team was 10-4 through 14 games.
Born Into C-USA
* TCU is playing its first-ever Conference USA game today. Interestingly, TCU will face Houston, its travel partner in back-to-back conference games before ever playing another C-USA school. The game in Fort Worth against Houston on Jan. 13 will be shown live at 1:00 p.m. on ESPN2.
You Want Competition?
* Arkansas was the fifth 2001 NCAA Tournament participant that TCU has played this nonconference season. The Frogs are 3-2 against NCAA tourney foes so far, with wins over Southwest Missouri State, Rutgers and Arkansas and losses to Oklahoma and Oregon. In addition, the Frogs are 1-1 against 2001 WNIT teams, with a win over Santa Clara and a loss to BYU. Houston was also a WNIT team last year.
Houston, We've Had a Problem
* TCU is just 4-23 all-time against the Houston Cougars, a former Southwest Conference opponent. Also, the Lady Frogs have never won a game at Houston (0-14). TCU last faced the Cougars on Feb. 14, 1996, and Houston came out on top 80-72.
Lone Star Pride
* TCU is 3-0 against schools in Texas this season after going 8-4 against Lone Star State schools last year.
Tough Losses
* TCU's three losses came against teams with a combined record of 27-10 (.730). The Frogs lost the three games by 10.3 points per contest.
Eighty Is Enough
* TCU has not allowed an opponent to score 80 points in game this season. Just four TCU opponents have reached that mark in the Frogs' last 46 games, dating back to the start of the 2000-01 campaign.
Rejected Time and Time Again
* TCU has recorded a C-USA-best 92 blocked shots in the first 13 games of the season (7.1 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).
Building Blocks
* Sandora Irvin leads the team with 37 blocked shots and is just five blocks away from breaking the single-season school record (41 by Tiffany Evans in 2000-01).
Tiffany Tops Charts
* Speaking of Tiffany Evans, the sophomore forward 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 11 of 13 games this season. For the year, the Lady Frog bench leads the opposing bench (389-220).
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 9-0 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.
The Magic Number
* TCU is 8-1 when scoring at least 70 points this season and 2-2 when falling short of the mark. In Coach Mittie's three seasons as head coach, the Frogs are 39-6 (.867) when reaching the 70-point plateau and 12-19 (.387) when failing to do so. In addition, Mittie's TCU teams are 48-6 (.889) when holding opponents under 70 points and 3-19 (.136) when allowing at least 70.
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 9-1 when winning the battle of the boards and 1-2 when being outrebounded. On the season, TCU holds a 584-468 advantage on the glass (8.9 per game).
Getting to the Line
* The Frogs have made 258 free throws on the season (246-for-366, .705), while their opponents have attempted just 271 (176-for-271, .649).
Swervin' Irvin
* 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 (11.0) and blocked shots (2.8) and is second in scoring (12.3 ppg). She has topped the club in blocks in all but one game and in rebounding in all but two contests.
Safaritova Sparkles
* Kati Safaritova scored a career-high 29 points against Montana State. It was the highest point total by a TCU player since Tricia Payne poured in 32 against SMU on Feb. 9, 2001. Safaritova has led the team in scoring four of the last five games and now is the leading scorer for the season at 12.9 points per game.
Don't Worry, We'll Be Back Soon
* After a nine-game homestand from Nov. 30 through Jan. 3, TCU plays at Houston on Jan. 6. The Frogs then play three straight conference games at home, meaning 12 of 13 games will have been played in Fort Worth.
