TCU
Utah
No. 23 TCU falls 72-61 at Utah
1/18/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 18, 2007
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - Bidding for its eighth straight win and a 4-0 start in conference play, No. 23 TCU had its seven-game winning streak snapped on Thursday as the Lady Frogs fell 72-61 to Utah at the Huntsman Center.
"Utah is playing extremely well and they executed well and did a lot of things right tonight," head coach Jeff Mittie said. "We struggled all night. Our shot selection was poor and we weren't patient enough."
After trailing by as many as 13 with 13:25 to play, TCU (13-5, 3-1 Mountain West) was able to go on an 11-2 run to close Utah's lead to four (47-43), but the Utes (12-6, 5-0 MWC) quickly extinguished the Lady Frogs' run by scoring four points to extend their lead back to eight, 51-43.
Bidding for its third straight win over Utah, TCU was able to stay within 10 points until a three-pointer by the Utes' Kalee Whipple pushed Utah's lead to 12, 63-51, with 2:59 to play.
TCU entered the game averaging a league-best 75.7 points per game, but were held in check by the Utah who held the Lady Frogs to 35.6 percent from the field on 21-of-59 shooting. Despite its shooting percentage, TCU was able to become the first team to score more than 60 points against Utah in the last seven games. As TCU struggled to find its shot, the Utes were able to build its lead by shooting 48 percent from the field, including 54.2 percent in the first half.
"They are a good basketball team and Elaine (Elliott) is a great coach," Mittie said. "They have done a good job of turning things around after they got off to a slow start like we did by playing a tough non-conference schedule."
Individually, Hanna Biernacka poured in a team-high 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting for TCU. Also reaching double figures for TCU was Helen Roden who scored all 11 of her points in the second half after entering the game for Moneka Knight who left the game with 17:49 to play after picking up her fourth foul.
TCU's leading scorers, Ashley Davis and Adrianne Ross were limited to 14 points on 5-of-18 shooting. Despite scoring a season-low five points, Davis was able to extend her consecutive games streak with a three-pointer to 27 games.
Utah was led by Morgan Warburton, who scored 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
Utah led by 10 at the half, 33-23, after holding the lead for the final 14:50 of the first half. Utah was able to hold TCU to its lowest point total in the first half since Nov. 22 when the Frogs scored 22 first-half points against Houston.
Biernacka led TCU at the half with 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Utah was paced by Warburton's 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting. TCU made 9-of-29 shots in the first half, while Utah finished 13-for-24 from the field.
TCU concludes its three-game road trip on Saturday with a 3 p.m. tip at Wyoming (11-5, 2-2 MWC).
Prior to Thursday's game, Utah honored head coach Elaine Elliott for her 500th win with a ceremony at mid-court. Elliott became the 32nd coach in NCAA Division I women's basketball to reach 500 wins with a 49-37 win at UNLV on Jan. 13.
