Lady Frogs to Meet #5 Texas A&M Saturday
12/11/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 11, 2009
GAME NOTES - TEXAS A&M | | LISTEN LIVE!!!
GAME #10
TCU (6-3) vs. #10/5 TEXAS A&M (7-0)
GAME DAY INFORMATION
Saturday, Dec. 12 • 6 p.m. • Fort Worth, Texas • Daniel-Meyer Coliseum (7,201)
TV: The Mtn. (DirecTV ch. 616) • Talent: Erin Bajackson (play-by-play), Andrea Lloyd (color)
Radio: KTCU 88.7 FM; GoFrogs.com • Talent: Jeff Williams (play-by-play), Jeff Lewis (color)
Internet (GoFrogs.com): Free Live Radio, Live Stats
Series Record vs. Texas A&M: 3-29 • Last Meeting: Dec. 21, 2008 in College Station (L, 50-64)
TCU Head Coach: Jeff Mittie (Missouri Western, '89) • Record: 222-109 in 11 years at TCU (373-168 overall)
Texas A&M Head Coach: Gary Blair (Texas Tech, '74) • Record: 136-66 in 7 years at TAMU (544-229 overall)
FORT WORTH--TCU, in the midst of five straight games against teams from the state of Texas, plays host to former Southwest Conference rival Texas A&M (No. 10 AP; No. 5 USA Today) for a 6 p.m. tip-off Saturday at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. The game will be broadcast by The MountainWest Sports Network (The Mtn.).
The Lady Frogs, 6-3 on the season, recently completed a two-game road stretch with an 84-66 victory over another former SWC rival, SMU, in Dallas. TCU will be looking for its first win over Texas A&M since a 69-65 win in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament. The teams have played each of the last two years, both Aggie wins.
Also on tap for Saturday is a TCU basketball reunion. All former members of the program have been invited to return to campus to help the current team honor the jersey of former Frog All-American Sandora Irvin, who currently serves as TCU's Director of Ops. A special ceremony will commemorate the occasion during an extended halftime.
TCU's game against the Aggies can be heard live on the radio throughout the Metroplex on 88.7 KTCU-FM with Jeff Williams (play-by-play) and Jeff Lewis (color) calling the action. Williams is in his 12th season as the voice of the Lady Frogs, while Lewis is in his second season as the analyst. A link to an Internet radio feed will be available on game day via GoFrogs.com, in addition to a link to live statistics.
The game also marks TCU's second of 10 telecasts on The Mtn. Erin Bajackson (play-by-play) and Andrea Lloyd (analyst) will serve as the broadcast team.
FROG QUICK NOTES
>TCU brings an 11-game home winning streak into Saturday, dating back to a Jan. 13, 2009 loss to BYU.
>TCU is 3-0 so far this season against in-state schools.
>Helena Sverrisdottir needs only 12 rebounds to reach 500 for her career and 65 points for 1,000 in her career.
>TK LaFleur is only 99 points shy of 1,000 for her career.
>Sverrisdottir is only seven assists behind Andrea Boris for the No. 8 spot on TCU's career list (288).
>Emily Carter needs two 3-pointers for 100 in her career.
>Starr Crawford paces the MWC in rebounding (10.8 rpg) and has led TCU in the category in all but one game this season.
>Crawford entered Monday as one of only 31 players in the nation, and one of only three freshmen, averaging a double-double.
>TCU has outrebounded the opponent in six of nine games, compared to only six times in all of 2008-09.
>TCU leads the MWC in scoring (74.2 ppg), scoring margin (+15.7), FT percentage (76.4%) and 3FGs made (7.8 3pg).
>TCU has made at least six 3-pointers in each game this season and owns streaks of 44 straight games with three or more (since March 5, 2008) and 135 straight with at least one (since March 20, 2004).
SCOUTING THE TEXAS A&M AGGIES
Texas A&M arrives at Fort Worth ranked among the nation's top-10 teams while boasting a perfect 7-0 record. Head coach Gary Blair's group already claims a pair of wins over teams currently included in the national rankings in Duke (No. 7 USA Today; No. 10 AP) and Cal (No. 22 AP and USA Today).
The Aggies, who own an 87.7-points per game scoring average, have beaten opponents by an average of 29.1 points per contest. The squad is shooting 50.5% from the field this season, including a nation-best 47.9% behind the 3-point arc, and have forced opponents into an average of 26.4 turnovers each time out.
Guard/forward Tanisha Smith leads the team averaging 18.1 ppg, while guard Danielle Adams (14.6 ppg) and forward Adaora Elonu (11.3 ppg) also average double figures. Forward Damitria Buchanan (4.9 rpg) and guard Sydney Colson (5.6 apg) pace the roster in rebounds and assists, respectively.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Texas A&M leads the all-time series with TCU, 29-3. The Frogs and Aggies met each year between 1981 and the breakup of the Southwest Conference in 1996. Following a decade-long hiatus, the teams met in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament, where TCU earned its first victory in 13 games in the series since the 1989-90 season. The programs completed a home-and-home series last season with the Aggies taking both contests.
vs. TEXAS A&M in the Jeff Mittie Era (Since 1999-00)
Mar. 19, 2006 N W 69-65
Dec. 2, 2007 H L 58-68
Dec. 21, 2008 A L 50-64
LAST TIME WE MET: TEXAS A&M 64, TCU 50
COLLEGE STATION (Dec. 21, 2008)—TK LaFleur recorded her third 20-point outing of the season, but No. 24/25 TCU was unable to overcome an aggressive defensive effort from No. 4/3 Texas A&M during a 64-50 loss at Reed Arena.
The Lady Frogs' streak of three-straight victories over teams ranked No. 3 in at least one of the national polls was snapped during the loss.
Texas A&M held the Frogs to their lowest offensive output in nearly a year. In addition to turning the ball over 23 times, TCU shot only 32.7% from the field. The Aggies did not fare much better from the field (38.8%), but the squad did grab 17 offensive rebounds while committing only 14 miscues on its own end.
LaFleur led TCU in scoring with 22 points while shooting 8-of-18 from the floor. Included among her total was a 3-for-3 effort from 3-point range, while she also tied for the team lead in rebounds (seven) with Helena Sverrisdottir, who had seven points and a team-best five assists.
HONORING #50 SANDORA IRVIN
Sandora Irvin broke nearly every major individual record as a four-year letterwinner for the Lady Frogs from 2001 through 2005.
A native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Irvin owns career marks for points (1,892), rebounds (1,370) and blocked shots (480), in addition to still holding records for field goals, free throws and games started. While she led TCU in scoring each of her final three seasons on campus, it is her defensive prowess that to this day ranks her among the greatest players in the history of women's college basketball. Five seasons after she last stepped on the court for TCU, Irvin still owns NCAA records for blocks in a career and a single game. She totaled 16 swats in a 2005 contest against UAB.
The 6-3 forward piled up the honors during her time as a Frog. She was a consensus first-team All-American as a senior in 2007 one season after earning honorable-mention All-America honors as a junior. Three times she was named Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year before later earning a spot on the conference's All-Decade Team.
Irvin completed her college career by leading TCU to its fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2005 and was made the No. 3 selection in the WNBA Draft by the Phoenix Mercury after the season. She played four seasons in the league and reached the WNBA Finals with the San Antonio Silver Stars in the summer of 2008.
Irvin currently serves as the Director of Operations on TCU head coach Jeff Mittie's staff.
A TALE OF TWO HALVES
TCU followed up its worst second half of the season with its best such effort at SMU. The effort helped the Frogs regroup from a 76-62 road setback at NC State.
>The Frogs shot only 27.6% in the second period of their Dec. 6 loss at NC State while being outscored, 40-27. Against SMU, TCU shot 52.8% while posting a 53-36 scoring advantage.
>The Frogs scored 53 points in the second half against SMU, their most since a March 1, 2008 win over UNLV.
A STARR IS BORN
Starr Crawford has given TCU a needed boost in the frontcourt this season with Micah Garoutte sidelined due to injury.
>As of Monday, Crawford was one of only 31 players nationally, and one of only three freshman, averaging a double-double this season (11.0 ppg, 10.7 rpg).
>Crawford has led TCU in boards in all but one game.
>Crawford is one of only two players, along with Emily Carter, to start each game.
