TCU
San Diego State
Second-half run pushes TCU to another road win
2/9/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 9, 2008
SAN DIEGO--TCU put together an exceptional second-half performance while downing San Diego State, 75-54, for its fourth straight road win Saturday at the Aztecs' Cox Arena. The Lady Frogs trailed by six points at intermission before shooting over 58 percent from the field in the final period.The win moved TCU's season record to 14-9 and 7-2 in Mountain West Conference play, while SDSU dropped to 13-8 and 4-5 in the MWC. The fourth straight road victory marked the Frogs' longest in-conference road win streak in one season since the 2001-02 squad won five in a row to end the season.
The Lady Frogs played one of their best halves of basketball this season down the stretch, scoring 50 points in the second period while out-rebounding SDSU by an 18-10 margin. TCU had shot only 32.3 percent in the first half while committing an uncharacteristic 14 turnovers.
Trailing at the break, 31-25, TCU wasted little time in cutting into the deficit after hitting the floor following intermission. Moneka Knight started a 7-2 run with a pair of free throws, while Micah Garoutte added two layups during the stretch to help cut the lead to only one. Following a pair of Aztec buckets, Lorie Butler-Rayford drilled a trey before feeding a no-look pass to Jenna Lohse, who finished with a layup to knot the score at 37-37.
TCU continued to apply pressure on the offensive end while regaining and extending the eight-point lead it held in the first half. Butler-Rayford put TCU on top with a layup, Knight drilled a 3 and Adrianne Ross sank a pair of free throws to push the advantage to seven, 44-37. Helena Sverrisdottir added to the run with back-to-back 3-pointers and Garoutte added a layup on a nice feed from fellow freshman Sverrisdottir to open up a 14-point lead with 5:46 remaining.
The Frogs were nearly perfect from the free-throw line down the stretch on their way to their seventh 20-point win this season.
Four players scored in double-figures for TCU, including Sverrisdottir, who totaled 15 points, and Garoutte, who scored 14. Saturday's game marked the second straight contest the two Frog freshmen paced the squad's scoring attack.
Lorie Butler-Rayford recorded 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists, and Knight, who went 10-of-12 from the charity stripe, also added 13 points.
Despite being limited to only five points by the Frogs in the second half, Jene Morris still scored a game-high 19 points to lead SDSU. Paris Johnson also reached double figures with 10 points.
Both teams played at a frantic pace to open the game. TCU started the afternoon sharp on the offensive end and staked itself to a quick 6-0 lead after Garoutte and Sverrisdottir combined for three quick jumpers in the opening two minutes. Sverrisdottir added the next five Lady Frog points to stake the squad to an 11-4 advantage.
The lead, which reached eight points, evaporated after the Aztecs put together a 9-1 run that ended with seven minutes remaining in the half. The Frogs were held without a field goal for more than six and one-half minutes until Roden hit a mid-range jumper with just over six minutes left in the period. Adding to TCU's scoring woes was some less-than-crisp ballhandling, as the team totaled 11 turnovers in the final 11 minutes of the half.
SDSU continued to run and took its first lead of the game with 10 straight points that pushed the score to 29-21 with just over two minutes left in the half, marking the largest Aztec lead of the afternoon.
TCU next returns home for two games during the upcoming week. The Frogs first play a 6:30 p.m. Wednesday tip-off against Wyoming before hosting New Mexico Sunday, Feb. 17, at 2 p.m. The match-up with New Mexico will be televised live on The Mountain West Sports Network (The Mtn.).
