TCU continues road swing at Air Force
2/1/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 1, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format
The Opponent: Air Force Falcons
Game #21
TCU (11-9; 4-2 MWC) at Air Force (7-11; 1-5 MWC)
USAFA, Colo. -- Clune Arena (5,939)
Saturday, Feb. 2 -- 3 p.m. CST
Television: None
Radio: 88.7 KTCU-FM, gofrogs.com
Internet: Live Radio via KTCU; Live Statistics via All-Access
After dropping each of its first six road contests of the season, the Lady Frogs have won each of their last two away games in conference play. Overall, the Frogs have won six of their last eight games and have the opportunity to increase their MWC road record to 3-1 with a win Saturday.
The Falcons have struggled since the start of the conference season and look to end a slide featuring six losses over the past seven games. The squad has lost its last three games at home.
The Lady Frogs lead the all-time series by an 8-1 margin and have posted eight consecutive victories, marking their longest current winning streak over an out-of-state opponent (UT-Arlington longest overall, 12 games). TCU's average margin of victory in the teams' four meetings as MWC foes has been 21.5 points per game.
Tuesday's game can be heard live on the radio in the Metroplex on 88.7 KTCU-FM with Jeff Williams (play-by-play) calling the action. All games this season, home and away, will be broadcast live on KTCU. Live statistics and a link to the radio broadcast will be available on GoFrogs.com.
Frog Quick Notes
-TCU's 83.5 ppg scoring average against Air Force is its highest versus any league school since joining the MWC three seasons ago.
-TCU has allowed fewer than 40 points during a school-record three games this season. That figure ties the Frogs for the MWC lead with Wyoming.
-TCU is 8-0 when allowing 59 points or fewer this season.
-TCU is on pace to record the third-lowest figures in school history for both opponent scoring average (60.9) and turnovers per game (16.45).
-TCU has never trailed the opponent during seven of its 11 wins. The largest deficit the squad has erased in victory is three points (vs. Radford; vs. UNLV).
-The Frog bench has outscored the opponent bench in 15 of 20 games by an average of 6.4 ppg.
-The Frogs have won the turnover battle in 16 of 20 games with three ties. Only Texas A&M has committed fewer turnovers than the Frogs in a contest this season.
-TCU leads the MWC in scoring (69.3 ppg) and offensive boards (15.60 pg) and ranks second in turnover margin (+5.70), steals (10.45 pg) and 3-pointers (5.90).
-Lorie Butler-Rayford is two rebounds shy of 900 for her career.
-Moneka Knight needs five assists to tie Rachel Hesse (300) for fifth on TCU's career list.
-Adrianne Ross is one of only two players (UNLV's Sequoia Holmes) among the MWC's top-7 individuals in scoring (seventh), assists (fifth) and steals (fourth).
-Ross is only three points shy of reaching 1,500 points for her career and only two steals shy of 300.
-Helena Sverrisdottir is the only freshman to appear in the MWC statistical rankings for assists (12th), rebounds (16th) and scoring (27th).
-The senior class of Butler-Rayford, Knight, Jenna Lohse, Helen Roden and Adrianne Ross have combined for 3,455 points, 1,691 rebounds, 976 assists and 672 steals during their careers.
Scouting Air Force (7-11; 1-5 MWC)
Air Force is 1-5 in Mountain West Conference play following a 6-6 showing during the non-conference season. The Falcons' lone league win came during a 56-43 victory at Colorado State, while the team earlier recorded non-conference wins over Denver, Army, Hampton, Northern Colorado, Cal State Stanislaus and Adams State. They most recently lost a nail-biter at BYU, 52-47, on Wednesday.
The Falcons are one of the top 3-point and free-throw shooting squads in the MWC and own respective team percentages of .361 and .715 to rank second overall in both statistics. They rank among the middle of the pack in the league for several other categories including scoring (sixth-60.4 ppg), field-goal percentage (fifth-.390), blocked shots (fourth-3.83 pg), steals (fourth-7.56 pg) and offensive rebounds (fifth-13.00 pg).
Senior forward Alecia Steele paces the team in scoring at 14.0 point per game to rank seventh among all MWC players, while her 8.1 rebounding average ranks second in the league. Senior guard Pamela Findlay, who leads the MWC in both free-throw and 3-point percentage, also averages double figures in scoring at 11.9 ppg. Raimee Beck runs the point for the Falcons and averages a team-best 2.83 assists per game.
Last Time Out: TCU Attacks Glass at UNLV
TCU continued its road momentum Tuesday with a 56-38 win over UNLV at Cox Pavilion. The Lady Frogs grabbed 22 offensive rebounds to help earn their second consecutive victory on the road.
TCU built up a 17-point lead in the second half thanks to strong rebounding and defensive efforts. The Frogs, who posted a 48-39 advantage on the boards, also held the Rebels to only 30.0 percent shooting from the field.
The Frogs cashed in eight 3-pointers while shooting .381 behind the arc. Six of the 3's came in the first half, as TCU recorded more baskets from behind the arc than inside it (four). Overall, the squad shot only .305 from the field, marking the lowest shooting percentage during a TCU win since posting a rate of .291 against Louisville on Jan. 20, 2002.
Five Frogs finished with at least five rebounds, including Jenna Lohse, who set a career high by pulling down 10 boards. Eight came on the offensive end for the senior forward, who also scored four points.
Helen Roden and Helena Sverrisdottir each scored 11 points to lead TCU's scoring attack. Both Frogs were also strong on the glass, pulling down nine and seven boards, respectively. Lorie Butler-Rayford chipped in 10 points and six rebounds.
The Frogs were able to hold the MWC's leading scorer, Sequoia Holmes, below her season average with 13 points, although Holmes did pull down 12 boards. Brittany Halberg went for nine points and six rebounds, while Shamela Hampton and Latoya Hunt each finished with four blocks.
Noting TCU-UNLV
Team Notes
-TCU won its second straight road game. The Frogs had lost their previous six road games this season prior to a Jan. 15 win at New Mexico during its last opportunity.
-TCU's six first-half 3-pointers were more than the squad had registered in 10 of 19 games prior to Tuesday.
-TCU allowed fewer than 40 points for the third time this season, setting a school record.
-TCU recorded its lowest shooting percentage in a win since it shot only .291 during a 57-50 victory over Louisville on Jan. 20, 2002.
Individual Notes
-Adrianne Ross moved past former Lady Frog Janice Dziuk into sole possession of second place on TCU's career field goals list. Ross currently boasts 547 career baskets.
-Ross tied Jill Sutton for fifth place on TCU's career games place with her 119th career appearance.
-Jenna Lohse registered a career high with 10 rebounds, breaking her previous best of nine set last season against New Mexico. Eight of Lohse's boards came on the offensive end.
-Lohse's eight offensive boards were the most for a Frog since Hanna Biernack also totaled eight during a NCAA Tournament first-round matchup last season.
-Helen Roden tied a career high with nine boards.
Lohse's Big Day on the Boards
Jenna Lohse set a career high with 10 rebounds while playing only 12 minutes during TCU's Jan. 29 win at UNLV. Lohse previously owned a best of nine boards, which she collected as a junior at New Mexico (Feb. 25, 2007).
Much of Lohse's efforts came on the offensive glass, as she finished with eight offensive boards. Not only did that mark the highest offensive total for a Lady Frog since Hanna Biernacka collected eight during last season's NCAA Tournament matchup against Ole Miss, Lohse also set her mark in the conference. Only New Mexico's Brandi Kimble (12) has registered more offensive boards in a game this season among all Mountain West Conference players.
Frog `D' Clamping Down in `07-08
TCU has allowed fewer than 40 points in a game three times this season, which ranks as a school record. The Frogs previously had allowed 39 points or fewer twice during four seasons: 2004-05, 2001-02, 2000-01 and 1978-79. There have been 15 games in school history where TCU has allowed 40 points or less, with 11 coming in the last nine years under Head Coach Jeff Mittie.
RPI Tracker
TCU, which hovered around the mid-100 level in the RPI rankings prior to the start of MWC play, currently sits 79th according to College RPI.com, which attempts to project the NCAA formula used to help assist in selecting at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament field.
The Frogs fell four spots from its previous position of 75th despite its Tuesday win at UNLV. Seven of TCU's opponents this season appear among the ranking's top 50: LSU (11), Texas A&M (16), Cal (17), Wyoming (22), Utah (24), and Oklahoma State (42) and Florida (44).
Despite a slow start to the season, TCU still controls its destiny to earn an eight straight NCAA berth. Last season's squad finished 59th in the RPI while earning an at-large bid.
