TCU
SMU
Carter, TCU Torch Ponies in Second Half
12/9/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 9, 2009
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DALLAS—Junior guard Emily Carter scored 17 of her career-high 24 points in the second half to lead the TCU women's basketball team to an 84-66 road victory over cross-town rival SMU Wednesday at Moody Arena. The Lady Frogs scored 53 second-half points, their most since the 2007-08 season.
TCU improved to 6-3 on the season, while SMU dropped to 6-2. Wednesday's victory marked the first for the Frogs over the Mustangs since the 2006-07 season. The squad now owns a 7-5 edge in the annual series since Jeff Mittie's arrival as head coach.
The Frogs, which had their worst second-half performance of the season during Sunday's road loss at NC State, put up their best such effort against SMU. TCU shot 52.8 percent following intermission Wednesday to run away with a contest that it had led by only one point at the half.
The game was put away in the final nine minutes, as the squad outscored SMU 31-19 to end the contest. Most crucial during the stretch was a 19-2 run over a four-minute period that pushed TCU's advantage out of reach. Senior guard TK LaFleur helped start up the spurt with back-to-back 3-point plays, one traditional and the other from beyond the arc, while freshman Starr Crawford totaled seven points in the run.
Carter led the Frogs while tying her previous career best set last season against Colorado State with 24 points on 7-of-15 shooting. She also made a trio of 3-pointers and went 7-of-8 at the free-throw line, all while managing to pull down a season-best seven rebounds.
A strong effort on the glass proved to be one of the keys to the TCU win. Junior guard/forward Helena Sverrisdottir (18 points, 12 rebounds) and freshman Starr Crawford (15 points, 10 rebounds) each recorded their third double-doubles of the season to boost the Frogs to a 46-38 rebounding edge.
LaFleur also scored in double figures for the Frogs with 13 points while drilling two of the team's nine 3-pointers.
Forward Christine Elliot led SMU in scoring with 18 points, while forward Raquel Christian and guard Haley Day added 13 and 10 points, respectively. Guard Brittany Gilliam led the Mustangs with nine rebounds and a game-high nine assists.
The game started with a back-and-forth first half featuring two ties and six lead changes. The Frogs trailed by as many as four points in the period until putting together an 11-1 run that gave the squad a 29-23 advantage with just over three minutes left. Treys by Sverrisdottir (two) and junior forward Rachel Rentschler (one) keyed the spurt.
It looked as if TCU would enter the locker room with that same six-point edge, but Elliot hit a jumper with just under a minute remaining before guard Alisha Filmore drilled a buzzer-beating trey to bring the Mustangs within one at the half, 31-30.
TCU returns to Daniel-Meyer Coliseum to face No. 10 Texas A&M Saturday at 6 p.m. Former Lady Frog great Sandora Irvin will have her jersey honored during a special halftime ceremony. The game will be televised by The MountainWest Sports Network (The Mtn.).
Players Mentioned
