TCU Ready For Sunday Afternoon Tilt
12/17/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 17, 2010
GAME DAY INFORMATION
GAME NOTES 
| | LIVE VIDEO
Fort Worth, Texas • Daniel-Meyer Coliseum • Sun., Dec. 19 • 5:00 p.m. CT
Radio: KTCU (88.7 FM), gofrogs.com • Talent: Jeff Williams (play-by-play)
Internet (gofrogs.com): Live Stats, Live Streaming
Series Record vs. SHSU: TCU leads, 7-4
Last Meeting vs. SHSU: 2009, (TCU Win, 83-65)
TCU Head Coach: Jeff Mittie (Missouri Western, `89)
Record: 243-120 in 12 years at TCU (394-179 overall)
Assistants: Brian Ostermann (Wis. La Crosse, `88), Tonya Haut (Baylor, `99)
Tricia Davern (TCU, `02)
SHSU Head Coach: Brenda Welch-Nichols (Sam Houston, `89)
SHSU Record: 26-90 (Fourth Year)
• The Horned Frogs will be looking for their eighth-straight win over the Bearkats Sunday afternoon.
• Senior Helena Sverrisdottir will graduate Saturday in three-and-a-half years with a degree in communications.
• When the Horned Frogs take on Sam Houston State Sunday, they will look to go 3-0 against Houston area schools this season.
FORT WORTH, Texas - The TCU women's basketball team will continue non-conference action taking on Sam Houston State Sunday. Tip-off is set for 5:00 p.m. at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
The Horned Frogs, who are 5-5 overall and undefeated at home this winter, are coming off a 91-66 setback to nationally ranked Texas A&M last Sunday. Overall, the Frogs went 1-1 on the week having earlier upended UTA, 81-39, last Wednesday.
Against the Aggies, three Frogs scored in double figures, including senior guard/forward Helena Sverrisdottir, who totaled a team-high 23 points. Sverrisdottir set career highs in both free throw (12) and attempts (14) to lead TCU's efforts at the free-throw line. The Frogs went 25-of-28 from the stripe overall, good for a 89.3 percent rate.
Following Sunday's contest against Sam Houston State, TCU will host 2010 NCAA Tournament qualifier Georgia, who is receiving votes in both national polls, on Wednesday, Dec. 22 at 6:30 p.m. The contest against the Bulldogs will be televised on The Mtn.
A Look Back At The Texas A&M Contest
TCU dropped a 91-66 decision to No. 7 Texas A&M last Sunday afternoon at the Aggies' Reed Arena.
Helena Sverrisdottir totaled a team-high 23 points, while fellow senior guard Emily Carter added 19 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Sophomore DeLisa Gross also had a solid night, scoring 13 points. Carter, Gross and Sverrisdottir each made a trio of 3-pointers to lead a strong TCU deep shooting performance. The Frogs made 9-of-16 attempts overall from outside the arc, including each of their first seven three's.
Texas A&M senior forward Danielle Adams showed why she is considered one of the nation's top players last Sunday with a 33-point performance. She made 12-of-19 attempts from the floor, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range. Four other Aggies also reached double figures, including junior guard Sydney Carter (15), junior guard Tyra White (13), junior forward Adaora Elonu (12) and senior guard Sydney Colson (10).
Texas A&M posted a significant advantage in rebounds (39-24), while also forcing the Frogs into 19 turnovers. The Aggies themselves totaled only eight miscues, which resulted in a 25-7 edge in points off turnovers.
The All-Time Series
When the Horned Frogs and Bearkats take to the court tonight it will mark the 12th meeting between the two Texas schools. TCU has dominated the series as of late, winning the last seven meetings, including an 83-65 victory in 2009.
Overall, the Horned Frogs own a 7-4 advantage in the series. In 2009, Emily Carter led three Frogs in double figures with 24 points as TCU defeated Sam Houston State 83-65 at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
Carter had a previous career-high nine field goals on only 15 attempts, while she also went 5-of-7 at the free-throw line. Forward Starr Crawford and senior TK LaFleur chipped in 14 and 12 points, respectively.
TCU managed to shoot 40.2 percent from the field for the game, but it was the team's work on the glass and the defensive end that helped propel TCU to victory. In addition to forcing 29 Bearkat turnovers, TCU pulled down 57 rebounds.
Breaking Down Sam Houston State
Sam Houston State comes into tonight's contest with a 6-5 overall record. In their last outing, Houston Baptist upended the Bearkats, 51-48.
Sequeena Thomas led SHSU against HBU with 16 points and 12 boards. The Bearkats hit only 25.7 percent from the field in the first half on 9-of-35 shooting. Overall, the Kats shot just 25 percent from the floor for the game, including hitting only five of their 29 attempts from downtown.
With six victories in their first 10 games, the Bearkats posted the program's best start since 1993-94. During that stretch, Sam Houston State, who opened the season winning five of its first six games, defeated Southeast Missouri, Centenary, North Texas, American University, Charleston Southern and Grambling.
Sverrisdottir Honored By Mountain West Conference
TCU senior Helena Sverrisdottir was named the Mountain West Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week Monday. It is the first weekly honor for the All-America candidate this season and the eighth of her career.
Sverrisdottir scored a career-high 30 points Wednesday night as TCU cruised to a dominating 81-39 victory over UT Arlington at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. Sverrisdottir, who posted a career-high in field goals made with 11, simply could not be stopped. The Iceland native torched the Mavericks in the first half, scoring 16 of her game-high 30 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including going 3-of-4 from deep. Overall, Sverrisdottir went 11-of-17 on the night, while also shooting 5-of-7 from behind the arc.
Last Sunday, Sverrisdottir went toe-to-toe against No.7 Texas A&M and shined, scoring a team-high 23 points. She also set career-highs in both free throw (12) and attempts (14) to lead TCU's efforts.
For the week, Sverrisdottir averaged 26.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game, while shooting .600 (15-25) from the field. She shot .667 (8-12) from three-point range and .882 (15-170 from the free throw line while averaging 31.5 minutes per game.
Passing The Rock
Following her four-assist effort against Texas A&M last Sunday, senior Helena Sverrisdottir needs only 27 more assists to become TCU's all-time leader in assists for a career. The All-America candidate, who has 435 for her career, will look to pass former Frog great Jill Sutton this weekend. Sutton currently sits No. 2 with 445 assists between 1997-2001, while Natasha Lacy holds the current record with 461 assists between 2003-2006.
Starting To Heat Up From Deep
During its last two outings, the Frogs have shot over 50 percent from behind the three-point arc, including a season-high 60 percent against UTA last Wednesday night. Overall, TCU has gone 18-of-31 from deep during its last two outings, which is nearly 50 percent from downtown.
10 games into the 2010-11 season, the Horned Frogs have already connected on nine or more three's in four different games. When you compare that total to a year ago, the Purple and White only hit nine of more three's in five games out of 31 contests. If recent trends hold true, TCU should be in good shape going into this weekend as the Frogs went 5-0 last season in the next game after draining nine or more three's in a game.
Horned Frogs Continue To Impress In NCAA
Through 10 games, the Frogs have done quite nicely among the nation's best. TCU ranks No. 58 overall in scoring offense (71.7), while also ranking No. 16 overall in free throw percentage (76.9). The Purple and White currently sit in the top-65 nationally in scoring margin (No. 61), field-goal percentage defense (No. 42), three-point field goals per game (No. 40), three-point field goal percentage (No. 58) and turnovers per game (No. 54).
Individually, Emily Carter paces the Frogs', ranking No. 14 overall in scoring average with a 21.0 average. Fellow senior Helena Sverrisdottir sits No. 56 in points per game, while averaging 17.7 points. Carter also ranks No. 28 in free throw percentage (89.9) and in the top 70 in three-point field goals in a game with an average of 2.5 per game. Sophomore Starr Crawford also sits No. 41 overall in rebounds per game (9.9).
TCU In The Mountain West Conference
10 games into the season, the Horned Frogs lead the conference in free throw percentage (.769). The Frogs also sit No. 2 in scoring offense (71.7), scoring margin (+10.0), three-point field goal percentage (.355), three-point field goals made (71) and defensive rebounds (294).
Individually, Emily Carter leads the conference in scoring average (21.0) and free throw percentage (.899). She also ranks in the top 2 in three-point field goals made (2.5). Helena Sverrisdottir currently sits No. 4 in scoring (17.7) in the conference. Sophomore Starr Crawford is also among the league leaders, ranking No. 1 in offensive rebounds (3.3). She is also second overall in rebounds (9.9) and third in defensive rebounds (6.6).
Up Next
TCU will face Georgia next Wednesday night at the DMC.
Players Mentioned
