No. 25 TCU Women to Host Utah Saturday
1/8/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 8, 2010
GAME NOTES - UTAH | LISTEN LIVE!!! | | LIVE VIDEO
GAME #15
#25/RV TCU (11-3) vs. UTAH (9-4)
GAME DAY INFORMATION
Saturday, Jan. 9 • Noon • Fort Worth, Texas • Daniel-Meyer Coliseum (7,201)
Radio: KTCU 88.7 FM; GoFrogs.com • Talent: Jeff Williams (play-by-play), Jeff Lewis (analyst)
Internet (GoFrogs.com): Free Live Radio, Live Stats, Live Video Stream
Series Record vs. Utah: 5-8 • Last Meeting: March 7, 2009 in Fort Worth (W, 53-47)
TCU Head Coach: Jeff Mittie (Missouri Western, '89) • Record: 227-109 in 11 years at TCU (378-168 overall)
Utah Head Coach: Elaine Elliott (Boise State, '77) • Record: 568-226 in 27 years at Utah
FORT WORTH--No. 25 TCU returns to Daniel-Meyer Coliseum for its Mountain West Conference home opener Saturday against Utah. Tip-off is scheduled for Noon.
The Frogs surge into Saturday's matchup on a six-game winning streak that has pushed their season record to 11-3, which is tied for the second-best 14-game start in TCU history. The squad also owns a 14-game home winning streak that ranks No. 2 in program history.
Utah, which has a 9-4 overall record, will present a stiff challenge for the Frogs. The Utes have won at least a share of each of the last two MWC regular season championships and rank No. 1 in conference victories (51) since TCU joined the league in 2005-06. The Frogs are No. 2 with 48 wins.
Following Saturday's game, TCU returns to the road for a Jan. 13 contest at Wyoming. Tip-off against the Cowgirls has been set for 8 p.m. CT.
Saturday's matchup can be heard live on the radio throughout the Metroplex on 88.7 KTCU-FM with Jeff Williams (play-by-play) and Jeff Lewis (analyst) calling the action. A link to an Internet radio feed will be available on game day via GoFrogs.com, in addition to live statistics and a live video stream.
FROG QUICK NOTES
-TCU will look to extend its winning streak to seven games, which would tie for the fourth longest in program history.
-A victory would give TCU its best 15-game start since a 13-2 opening to the season in 2003-04.
-The Frogs have started 2-0 in MWC play three of the previous four seasons.
-TCU owns a 48-17 all-time record in its four seasons in the MWC and is the only team with at least 11 wins during each campaign.
-TCU's 14-game home winning streak is the second longest in program history (19 straight from 2006 through 2007).
-Emily Carter is shooting 55.2% from the field during TCU's six-game winning streak.
-Helena Sverrisdottir is the only player in school history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 300 assists.
-Sverrisdottir is the only player ranked among the MWC's top-12 players in assists (No. 1), steals (No. 3), rebounding (No. 8), blocked shots (No. 8) and scoring (No. 12).
-TK LaFleur is nearing the 1,000-point milestone, needing only 44 more points to reach the mark.
-TCU leads the MWC in scoring offense (73.1 ppg), scoring margin (+14.8 ppg), steals (10.6 spg) and turnover margin (+4.5 tpg).
-TCU has made at least two 3-pointers in 49 consecutive games and at least one in 139 straight contests (since March 20, 2004). The team has made at least six in all but one game in 2009-10.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Utah owns an 8-5 lead in the all-time series with TCU that began in 1996-97. The Frogs are 5-6 against the Utes in head coach Jeff Mittie's tenure after snapping a four-game losing streak in last spring's regular-season finale at home.
TCU vs. UTAH ALL-TIME SERIES RESULTS
Date Site W/L Score
Jan. 16, 1997 A L 46-77
Feb. 15, 1997 H L 54-71
Nov. 22, 2002 H W 54-51
Dec. 11, 2004 A L 72-85
Jan. 28, 2006 H W 69-56
Mar. 2, 2006 A W 63-62
Jan. 18, 2007 A L 61-72
Feb. 18, 2007 H W 74-50
Mar. 7, 2007 N L 67-68
Jan. 26, 2008 H L 50-60
Feb. 27, 2008 A L 53-68
Feb. 4, 2009 A L 63-73
Mar. 7, 2009 H W 53-47
SCOUTING THE UTAH UTES
Utah brings a five-game winning streak into today's game after starting the season with a 4-3 record. Included in the stretch are victories over Westminster (68-35), South Dakota State (62-58), Oregon (89-86 in overtime), SMU (72-58) and Utah Valley (65-30). In addition to SMU, Utah and TCU also share a common opponent in Minnesota, which the Utes defeated, 60-59, earlier this season at home.
Elaine Elliott, in her 27th season as head coach of the Utes, leads a team that averages 60.3 points per game while giving up 55.9 per contest. The Utes lead the Mountain West Conference in field-goal percentage defense at 35.4% while posting a +5.5 rebounding margin, good for second in the league.
Senior forward Kalee Whipple, a two-time All-MWC selection, leads the Utes in scoring (17.1 ppg) and 3-pointers (2.2 3pg) in her final season on campus. Newcomer Taryn Wicijowski, a freshman center, has made a big impact in her first season, averaging 14.2 points and 6.8 boards.
LAST TIME WE MET: TCU 53, UTAH 47
FORT WORTH (March 7, 2009)—TCU trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half, but Helena Sverrisdottir and TK LaFleur led an impressive Lady Frog comeback during a 53-47 win over Utah in the team's regular-season. The victory clinched TCU's eighth 20-win season in nine years.
The game was tied, 40-40, with 7:33 to play before TCU made the game's most important run, outscoring the Utes 10-3 over the next four minutes. Sverrisdottir drained a key trey as the shot clock wound down with 5:12 remaining to put TCU up four, and LaFleur followed with a layup while being fouled. She added the free throw before two more by Rachel Rentschler that gave the Frogs a 50-43 edge with just over four minutes left.
Utah pulled itself back to within three points on a long jumper by Katie King, but TCU was able to clinch the win at the free throw line with two shots by Rentschler and one by Sverrisdottir in the game's waning moments.
Sverrisdottir recorded her eighth double-double of the season with a game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds, while LaFleur added 15 points. The two players combined to go 12-of-14 at the free-throw line, mostly in the second half as Utah and TCU were fighting for control of the contest. Rentschler totaled eight points and 10 boards and went 4-for-4 at the line for TCU.
RPI UPDATE
COLLEGERPI.COM (as of Jan. 8)
40. TCU, .612 (Schedule Strength: No. 53)
REALTIMERPI.COM (as of Jan. 8)
28. TCU, .620 (Schedule Strength: No. 56)
CARTER DRIVING TCU WINNING STREAK
Emily Carter has been one of the major reasons behind TCU's current six-game winning streak. The 6-1 lefthander has averaged 18.8 points while shooting 55.2% from the field overall and 46.7% from behind the arc during the stretch.
-Carter matched her previous career scoring high with 24 points twice during the stretch, at SMU and at home against Sam Houston State.
-Carter has shot 50.0% or better from 3-point range in four of the six games (SMU, Sam Houston State, Houston, Air Force), while drilling at least two treys five times.
-Carter has led TCU in scoring a team-best seven times this season, including four of the six games in the current winning streak.
Players Mentioned
