Lady Frogs close out 2006 at home Saturday and Sunday
12/29/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 29, 2006
GAME #13:
RV/NR TCU (8-4) vs. NC A&T (6-5)
Dec. 30 / Fort Worth, Texas / 2:00 p.m. CST
Daniel-Meyer Coliseum
ABOUT THE GAME
The TCU women's basketball team, ranked No. 29 in the latest USA Today/ESPN coaches poll, is 8-4 on the season and puts its 11-game home win streak on the line Saturday when North Carolina A&T rolls into town. The Aggies (6-5) will test the Lady Frogs - a squad that has not lost in the friendly confines of Daniel-Meyer Coliseum since Jan. 25, 2006 - at 2 p.m. After a nine-day hiatus for the holidays, TCU will host back-to-back games to close out 2006. The Lady Frogs will face UMKC (3-10) on Sunday at 2 p.m. TCU is led by a balanced offensive and defensive attack. Leading the way in scoring is senior Ashley Davis and junior Adrianne Ross. The pair is ranked among the Mountain West Conference's leading scorers and they are averaging 17.2 and 16.4 points a game, respectively. Senior Hanna Biernacka is averaging 13.7 points per outing and junior Lorie Butler-Rayford contributes 8.8 points and a team-high 9.2 rebounds. Butler-Rayford is also the team's assist leader with 2.9 per game and Ross averages a team-best 2.6 steals per outing. This weekend's contests will be the final tune-up for the Lady Frogs as conference action gets underway for TCU on Jan. 3 against UNLV. After hosting the Lady Rebels, the Purple and White will welcome Colorado State to Fort Worth before hitting the road for three straight league games. In its last outing, TCU won the 2006 San Juan Shootout in Puerto Rico after defeating then-No. 17 DePaul, 74-73.
MEDIA COVERAGE
Radio: KTCU 88.7 FM -- Jeff Williams (PBP) and Marcy Girton (Color)
Video Streaming: Available at gofrogs.com
Internet: Radio broadcast available at gofrogs.com
Live Stats: Available at gofrogs.com
ABOUT THE AGGIES
The Aggies play their final game of a two-match road swing in the Lone Star State on Saturday against TCU. On Dec. 28, NC A&T fell at No. 9 Baylor, 89-40, snapping a five-game win streak. The Aggies and TCU share one common opponent this season - Georgia. Both teams fell to the Lady Bulldogs on the road. NC A&T dropped a 89-35 decision while the Lady Frogs stumbled, 80-58. Amber Bland is leading the way for the Aggies, averaging 18.1 points per game while shooting 44.8 percent from the field. Ta'Wuana Cook is contributing 13.7 points per outing and Lamona Smalley is crashing the boards with 7.6 rebounds per game.
TCU - NC A&T SERIES
Saturday's game marks the first all-time meeting between the two programs.
DAVIS PICKS UP SECOND MWC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR
TCU senior guard Ashley Davis is helping her cause in earning conference player of the year honors by picking up her second Mountain West Conference Player of the Week accolodes on Monday. It was the third time she has been honored in her career and she is the only player in the league that has earned the award twice this year. Davis led the Lady Frogs to a 2-0 record last week, including an upset over then-No. 17 DePaul en route to winning the San Juan Shootout. The San Antonio, Texas, native averaged 20.5 points at the tournament, earning her MVP honors. In two games, she shot better than 50 percent from the field (14-22), 3-point line (8-14), and free throw line (5-6). Davis matched her career-high with a game-high 23 points against the Blue Demons Dec. 21. She was 9-for-13 from the field, including 5-for-7 from long range. She tallied five rebounds and added a block and assist. Against Syracuse Dec. 20, she led the Lady Frogs with 18 points on 5-for-9 shooting, adding three 3-pointers (3-7) and pulling in six rebounds.
TCU NUMBERS, NEWS AND NOTES
Senior guard/forward Ashley Davis has made a 3-pointer in a league-best 21-straight games. She has 190 career treys, which is ranked second in TCU history.
Ashley Davis has scored in double-figures every game this season and Adrianne Ross has totaled 10-or-more points in all but one game. The duo has combined to score 403 of TCU's total 852 points. Perhaps the most astounding statistic in Davis' and Ross' numbers is the fact that they are shooting 45.8 and 41.6 percent, respectively, from the field. Also, Davis is making 45.6 of her shots from beyond the arc and Ross has a 35.0 3-point percentage.
Lorie Butler-Rayford has the second-most number of double-doubles by any other current player in the Mountain West Conference with 8 in her career. She and Marilyn Mouton (CSU) are tied for first in the league with the most double-figure rebound games (6).
When leading at the half, TCU is a perfect 4-0 on the season.
Butler-Rayford has pulled down 10-or-more boards for three straight games. She is averaging 9.2 on the season.
With the win over DePaul, TCU head coach Jeff Mittie has won 13 games against opponents ranked in the Top 25.
Davis' 12 double-figure scoring games this season ranks No. 1 in the MWC along with Julie Briody of New Mexico.
Davis and Ross are tied for first in the league with four 20-plus games this season.
