TCU
Utah
Lady Frogs run past Utah, 74-50
2/18/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 18, 2007
FORT WORTH, Texas - ThreLady Frogs run past Utah, 74-50 e players scored in double figures and TCU forced 26 turnovers, as the Lady Frogs moved into second place in the Mountain West Conference with a convincing 74-50 victory over Utah on Sunday at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
After falling 72-61 at Utah on Jan. 18, TCU (19-7, 9-3 Mountain West Conference) left little in doubt on Sunday by leading wire-to-wire after jumping out to a 17-1 lead to begin the game. The Lady Frogs led by as many as 27 en route to earning their fourth straight win and 19th in a row at home.
"All-in-all, I thought our team really played hard today," head coach Jeff Mittie said. "I thought there were only a few lapses. Ironically, our execution wasn't as good as I'd like. We covered up a lot of our mistakes today with our effort, and then in the second half when we made a run, we were really good.
"I thought one of our keys was guarding the three-point shot. We let them walk into the three in Utah and they are too good of a shooting team to allow them to do that."
Utah (16-10, 9-4 MWC) entered the game just one-half game up on TCU in the league standings and one game behind first-place BYU. With the win, TCU dealt the Utes their worst conference loss since Jan. 13, 1994, when San Diego State beat Utah by 24 points, 62-38. The win also moved TCU to just one game behind the Cougars for first place, as Utah slid into third place.
Holding a 56-42 advantage with just over nine minutes to play, the Lady Frogs put the game on ice by piecing together a 15-0 run to increase their lead to 27, 69-42, with 5:33 to play.
The Lady Frogs also matched a school record by making 18-of-19 (94.7 percent) free-throw attempts, while outscoring Utah 30-10 in the paint and 16-2 on fast break points. TCU shot 39.7 percent from the floor, while the Utes shot 34.1 percent.
With the 24-point victory, TCU has won each of its last 10 games by at least 13 points and has won all six of its conference home games by an average of 31.16 points. The Lady Frogs have won all 14 of their home games by an average of 21.5 points.
Leading 36-26 at the break, TCU scored the first six points of second half to expand its lead to 42-36, before Utah scored eight points in a row to move within eight, 42-34, with 15:59 to play. However, TCU went on a 12-4 run from that point on to run its lead back to 16, 54-38.
The Lady Frogs were led by Adrianne Ross, who poured in a game-high 22 points to go with six steals and four assists. Ashley Davis scored 13 points and Helen Roden added 10. Hanna Biernacka paced TCU with eight rebounds.
TCU began the game by scoring the first eight points of the game and built its lead to 16, 17-1. TCU was able to build a 15-1 lead on 6-of-12 shooting, while holding Utah to just one shot and forcing seven turnovers in the first five minutes of the game.
Despite trailing by as many as 16, the Utes were able to cut TCU's lead to seven, 32-25, before the Lady Frogs were able to take a 36-26 lead into the half.
Ross led TCU at the half with 13 points. The Lady Frogs shot 37.1 from the field, while Utah shot 36.8 percent.
Morgan Warburton - the Mountain West Conference's second leading scorer - picked up her third foul of the game at the 13:34 mark in the first half, but remained in the game until picking up her fourth foul with 6:40 to play in the first frame. At the time of her exit, she led the Utes with five points.
Utah was led by Marie Warner's 15 points and Warburton's 13 points.
TCU will return to the court on Thursday when Wyoming visits Daniel-Meyer Coliseum for a 7 p.m. tip.
