TCU to Face Cowgirls Wednesday in Laramie
1/20/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 20, 2009
The Opponent: Wyoming Cowgirls
GAME #18
TCU (11-6; 2-1 MWC) at WYOMING (8-8; 0-3 MWC)
Laramie, Wyo. | Arena-Auditorium (15,028) | Wednesday, Jan. 21 • 7 p.m. MT
Radio: KTCU (88.7 FM), gofrogs.com | Talent: Jeff Williams (play-by-play)
Series Record vs. Wyoming: 6-6 | Last Meeting: Feb. 13, 2008 in Fort Worth (W, 73-59)
FORT WORTH--TCU starts up a two-game road stretch this week when it takes on Wyoming Wednesday in Laramie, Wyo. Tip-off between the Lady Frogs and Cowgirls is scheduled for 7 p.m. MT at Wyoming's Arena-Auditorium.
The Frogs look to build some momentum following Saturday's home win over Air Force that raised their league record to 3-1. After the matchup with Wyoming, TCU will face the Nos. 1 (Utah, Feb. 4), 2 (New Mexico, Jan. 25) and 4 (San Diego State, Jan. 28) teams in the MWC standings over the next three games. Taking into account Wednesday's contest, three of the next four games are away from Fort Worth, where TCU has won eight of its last nine in conference play dating back to last season.
TCU is 6-6 all-time against Wyoming, including a 3-4 mark since joining the MWC prior to the 2005-06 season. The two teams split last season's meetings, with Wyoming posting a 62-45 win in Laramie and the Frogs upending the 22nd-ranked Cowgirls in Fort Worth, 73-59. Wednesday's game will provide TCU with a chance to earn its first win on Wyoming's home court as a member of the MWC. The Frogs have recorded at least one win at every other road site since joining the league.
Wednesday's contest can be heard live on the radio throughout the Metroplex on 88.7 KTCU-FM with the veteran play-by-play announcer Jeff Williams calling the action. A link to a live stream of the same radio broadcast can be found on GoFrogs.com, while a live stats feed will also be offered on TCU's official web site.
FROG QUICK NOTES
-TCU has won eight of its last nine road games in MWC play dating back to last season.
-TCU is shooting 47.0 percent from 3-point range in away games this season, compared to only 36.3 percent at home. Three Frogs are shooting at least 50.0 percent on the road: Emily Carter (60.9%), Rachel Rentschler (57.1%) and Helena Sverrisdottir (50.0%).
-TCU is the only program in the nation with two wins against teams ranked among the national polls' top 5.
-Emily Carter is averaging 16.5 ppg over the last five games after entering the SMU game with a 7.8 average.
-Carter's 16.4 ppg scoring average in league play ranks No. 2 among all MWC players (Warburton, Utah-18.3).
-Carter also leads the MWC in assist:turnover ratio in league play at 14.0 and is shooting 61.9 percent from 3-point range, which ranks second.
-TCU ranks among the top-10 teams nationally in fewest turnovers per game (No. 6) and 3-point FG percentage (No. 8).
-TCU leads the Mountain West Conference in scoring (72.8 ppg), 3-point FG percentage (39.3%), 3-point FG percentage defense (25.6%), 3-pointers per game (6.94 3pg), assist/turnover ratio (1.09) and fewest turnovers per game (13.5 tpg).
-TCU's current turnover average is on pace to break the school-record low of 16.0 set in 2006-07.
-TCU has totaled 10 turnovers or fewer five times this season, compared to only twice in 2007-08.
-TCU has appeared in the Associated Press Top 25 poll five of 10 weeks this season and three of nine weeks in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll, with high positions of Nos. 19 and 22, respectively.
-Despite having taken 71 fewer field-goal attempts from the field this season than its opponents, TCU has made 20 more shots (a 41.9 to 37.4 advantage in percentage). The stat also holds true for 3-pointers, as the Frogs have 16 more buckets despite 98 fewer attempts than the opponent (a 39.3 to 25.6 percent advantage).
-Helena Sverrisdottir is the only player ranked among the MWC's top 11-players in scoring (No. 6), rebounding (No. 9), assists (No. 2) and steals (No. 11).
-Newcomers have accounted for 49.3 percent of TCU's offense this season (610 of 1,238 points).
-The returning TCU roster features only 31.8 percent of the scoring totals, 31.1 percent of rebounding and 24.5 of assists recorded by last season's team.
SCOUTING THE WYOMING COWGIRLS
Wyoming enters Wednesday's game with an overall record of 8-8, including 0-3 in MWC play. The Cowgirls, who replaced four starters from last season's team that earned the first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history, have lost three straight games following an 8-5 showing in non-conference play. The squad is 4-4 when playing at home in 2008-09.
The Cowgirls rank seventh in the MWC this season in scoring offense at 62.0 ppg and have allowed 62.1 ppg, which ranks fifth. The team's field-goal percentage defense (36.7) rates in the league's upper half, and its 4.69 blocked shots average is third in the conference. Opponents have posted a +1.1 rebounding edge over the Cowgirls this season.
The Wyoming starting lineup features two seniors in guard Megan McGuffey and center Elisabeth Dissen. McGuffey leads the team and ranks 12th in the MWC in scoring average (11.9 ppg) and 11th in rebounding (6.4 rpg). Freshman guard Kristen Scheffler, scoring 10.8 ppg, leads the league in 3-pointers made (2.56 3pg), while freshman backcourt teammate Emma Langford averages a team-best 2.88 assists per contest to go with her 10.3 ppg scoring average.
MANGUM TO HAVE SEASON-ENDING KNEE SURGERY
Eboni Mangum will undergo season-ending knee surgery to fix a complete tear of her right ACL, Head Coach Jeff Mittie announced Sunday. Mangum was chosen as the Mountain West Conference Preseason Newcomer of the Year prior to the start of the season.
Mangum, who was playing for the Lady Frogs for the first time this season after transferring from Louisiana Tech, made 12 appearances and six starts despite suffering the injury to her ACL only two weeks before the Nov. 14 season-opening win over No. 3 Maryland. She elected to play this season and logged more than 22 minutes per outing through the first six contests while averaging 8.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per game in the stretch.
"Eboni fought extremely hard this season, but it was apparent that her knee wasn't going to cooperate for the rest of the season," Mittie said. "Her decision to play was an inspiration and a huge lift for our entire team. The sheer toughness she showed in gutting it out for half the season is something we will all remember about this season."
She reaggrevated the knee injury Jan. 10 at UNLV, when she scored 10 points in only 18 minutes of play.
The path back from injury is one that Mangum knows well. She tore the ACL in her left knee as a freshman at Louisiana Tech late in the 2005-06 season and elected to play through the remainder of that season's schedule. The Houston, Texas, native made a complete recovery and was able to start 28 games while helping lead the Techsters to a share of the 2006-07 Western Athletic Conference regular-season title.
Players Mentioned
