Official basketball practice begins for Lady Frogs
10/15/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Oct. 15, 2005
FORT WORTH, Texas -- Official basketball practice began Saturday for the TCU women's basketball team. The Lady Frogs practiced from 9 a.m. to noon in Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. TCU conducted a number of drills and finished with a 10-minute scrimmage.TCU returns nine of its 12 letterwinners from a year ago and three of five starters. The Lady Frogs also regain the services of Marissa Rivera and Adrianne Ross, both of whom suffered torn ACLs in November 2004. Leaving the team last year were seniors Sandora Irvin and Niki Newton and freshman Amanda Holmes, who transferred to Washburn in Topeka, Kan., to be closer to home.
"I thought for our first practice we looked solid," coach Jeff Mittie said. "There were some good things and some areas where I came away feeling that we're not as far along as we need to be. Our footwork was average today and early in practice we struggled with speed.
"The positive was our team play was further ahead. I thought our guards played the way they should have. They played like I expected since they're the veterans."
Three Lady Frogs got their first taste of collegiate practice. TCU's newcomers this year are forward Brittany Purdom (6-3, Fr., Rialto, Calif.), guard Whitney Regian (5-8, Fr., Aledo, Texas) and center Micaela Younger (6-3, Fr., Dover, Del.).
"I saw a lot of confused looks from the newcomers," Mittie said. "I expect that from freshmen. They'll learn quickly because of the number of returnees. They did show some good sparks at different times today."
The Lady Frogs will be focusing on offense the first few days of practice before working on defense. TCU finished 33rd in the country in scoring last season at 70.6 points per game and was fourth in 2003-04 with a 78.1 figure.
"We're trying to do a lot of offense early," Mittie said. "The fall provided that opportunity because of the new NCAA rules. There are still things that we are doing with this team, such as moving players into new positions. In the early part of practice, we are trying to see where these interchangeable parts can be used in our motion offense."
TCU hosts its first exhibition game Sunday, Nov. 6, versus NCAA Division II school Missouri Western at 2 p.m. CST in Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. The first regular-season contest is set for Friday, Nov. 18, against Long Beach State at 7 p.m. in DMC.
