Lady Frogs face road test at No. 21/22 Wyoming
1/11/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 11, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format
Game #16
TCU (8-7; 1-0 MWC) at No. 21/22 Wyoming (13-1; 1-0 MWC)
Laramie, Wyo. -- Arena-Auditorium (15,028)
Saturday, Jan. 12 -- 2 p.m. CDT
Television: The Mtn.
Radio: 88.7 KTCU-FM, gofrogs.com
Internet: Live Radio via KTCU; Live Stats via All-Access
FORT WORTH--TCU faces a key road test Saturday when it travels to Laramie, Wyo., to take on No. 21/22 Wyoming at the Cowgirls' Arena Auditorium. The Lady Frogs will make their second television appearance this season, as the contest will be broadcast regionally on The Mtn. at 2 p.m. CDT.
Both squads enter Saturday's matchup with perfect 1-0 conference records following league-opening victories on Wednesday. TCU downed San Diego State, 86-63, in Fort Worth, while Wyoming earned a 58-52 win at New Mexico. The Cowgirls and Frogs were picked to finish 1-2 in the Mountain West Conference's preseason poll.
The all-time series between the two programs currently stands even at 5-5 following a Wyoming sweep of the teams' two meetings last season. TCU is 0-2 in Laramie since joining the MWC three years ago.
Saturday's game can be heard live on the radio in the Metroplex on 88.7 KTCU-FM with Jeff Williams calling the action. All games this season, home and away, will be broadcast live on KTCU. Live statistics will be available on GoFrogs.com.
Calling the action for The Mtn. will be the broadcat team of Mike Evans (play-by-play) and Andrea Lloyd (color).
Frog Quick Notes
-TCU has won at least three games to open play in both of its previous two seasons in the MWC.
-TCU's eight victories this season have been by an average of 25.9 points per game. Five of the wins have been by 30 or more points.
-The Frogs have received 40.7 ppg from its bench over the last three games.
-The Frogs have won the turnover battle in 12 of 15 games, and only Texas A&M has committed fewer turnovers than the Frogs in a contest this season.
-TCU leads the MWC in scoring (73.9 ppg), rebounds (39.7 pg) and offensive boards (16.00 pg) and ranks second in assists (15.30 pg), steals (11.40 pg), turnover margin (+5.73) and 3-pointers (5.93 pg).
-Adrianne Ross is the only player among the MWC's top-7 individuals in scoring (fourth), steals (fourth) and assists (seventh).
-Ross' next game played will tie her with Karen Clayton (116) for eighth on TCU's career list.
-Emily Carter leads the MWC and ranks third in the NCAA in free-throw percentage at .946.
-Helena Sverrisdottir is the only freshman to appear in the MWC statistical rankings for assists (11th), rebounds (19th) and scoring (28th).
-Lorie Butler-Rayford is three points shy of 800 for her career.
-Butler-Rayford needs only nine boards to move past No. 3 Tiffany Evans (676) on TCU's career chart.
-Moneka Knight is only four assists shy of the No. 7 position on TCU's career list.
-Knight's next game played will tie her with Andrea Boris (109 games) for 10th on TCU's career list.
-The senior class of Butler-Rayford, Knight, Jenna Lohse, Helen Roden and Adrianne Ross have combined for 3,289 points, 1,594 rebounds, 931 assists and 645 steals during their careers.
Scouting No. 21/22 Wyoming (13-1; 1-0 MWC)
Wyoming enters Saturday's contest on a roll following a 12-1 nonconference showing and opening league victory at New Mexico. The Cowgirls, who ended last season with a WNIT Tournament championship, were selected as the MWC favorite during the preseason by a vote of league coaches and media representatives. The team has posted impressive victories over teams the likes of Kansas State, Wisconsin and Iowa with its only loss coming on the road at Colorado.
Five senior starters headline a lineup that ranks second to TCU among conference squads in scoring margin at 11.0 points per game. The Cowgirls boast the MWC's top scoring defense (52.4 ppg) and have turned over the ball a league-low 13.6 times per game.
Senior Hanna Zavecz, a preseason All-MWC pick, leads Wyoming in scoring at 14.6 ppg and is one of only two players among the league's top-five players in both scoring and assists (4.14 pg). Seniors Justyna Podziemska and Aubrey Vandiver also average double figures in scoring at 12.4 and 11.6 ppg, respectively. Vandiver paces the team with a 6.7-rebound average.
Frogs in the MWC--A Brief History
TCU owns a 23-10 all-time record in its three seasons as a member of the Mountain West Conference. The Frogs finished tied for second in 2005-06 and tied for third in 2006-07 after posting identical 11-5 league marks both seasons. The program's .688 winning percentage over its first two MWC seasons ranks tied for second behind only two-time defending league champion BYU (.781).
Shooting Spree
TCU posted the best statistical 3-point shooting night in program history during its Jan. 9 win over San Diego State, hitting 8-of-10 attempts from downtown against the Aztecs. The .800 success rate bested the previous record of .750 (12-of-16) set last season against Colorado State.
Following a 3-for-5 effort in the first half, the Frogs turned up the heat in the final frame with a 5-for-5 showing highlighted by Emily Carter's 25-foot strike that broke the record, while also beating the shot clock, with only 16 seconds remaining in the game.
Wins Coming Big in `07-08
Each of TCU's seven wins this season has come by at least 11 points. Five of the Frogs' eight victories are by at least 30 points, and the team's victory margin is an impressive 25.9 points-per game. The large winning margins have helped the squad post a +10.4-point scoring average.
Attack of the Bench
TCU's bench has been a strong point for the team this season, as each of the 11 Lady Frogs on the roster have seen considerable playing time. Frog reserves are scoring 26.7 points per game, marking 36.1 percent of the team's offense, while outscoring the opposing bench by 6.1 ppg.
Helen Roden (8.8 ppg), Danielle Nunn (7.1 ppg) and Emily Carter (6.3 ppg) each average more than six points a game when coming off the bench. Roden averages a team-high 23.0 minutes per game in the six games she has not started. Emily Carter, who has started two contests this season, has posted double-digit scoring efforts in five of the last eight games, while Nunn has reached the free-throw line a team-best average of 3.7 times per game this season.
The bench play has been very impressive as of late. TCU has averaged 40.7 ppg from reserve players over the last three games, with the latest victory over SDSU featuring a season-high 42 bench points. The Frogs out-scored the Aztecs 42-18 in the category.
Tracking Turnovers
TCU is up to its usual tricks in the ball-handling department, as it has won the turnover battle in 12 of its 15 games this season while twice matching the opponent. Only Texas A&M has committed fewer turnovers than the Frogs in a game. For the season, the team is averaging only 16.7 turnovers per game compared to the opponents' 22.6 average.
A favorable turnover margin is nothing new for TCU. Since the start of the 2005-06 campaign, the Lady Frogs are +383 in the category for a single-game average margin of +4.9. TCU has found itself on the opposite end of the statistic in only 13 of 78 games during the stretch.
