TCU
Boise State
Horned Frogs Down Boise State Saturday, 74-68
1/21/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 21, 2012
BOISE, Idaho - TCU had four players score in double-figures Saturday night as the Horned Frogs used a strong second half showing to drop Boise State at Taco Bell Arena, 74-68.
In a back-and-fourth game that was deadlocked at 29-29 at the break, TCU shot almost 60 percent from the floor in the second frame, shooting 57.7 percent on 15-of-26 shooting from the field.
Delisa Gross and Natalie Ventress both scored 18 points apiece, respectively, to lead the Horned Frogs, while Antoinette Thompson and Chelsea Prince chipped in with 10 points. Gross had a season-high of 18 on 6-of-11 shooting, which included 10 points in the second half. Ventress went 6-of-13 from the floor and knocked down several key free throws, going 4-for-4 down the stretch to seal the game for the Frogs. The freshman has now led TCU in scoring in eight out of the last 10 games, including three-straight.
Boise State was carried on the night by Lauren Lenhardt, who tallied a game-high 22 points and 10 boards. Katie Isham posted 18 points and Heather Pilcher rounded out the Broncos top-performers with 19 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field.
TCU, now 9-10 overall and 2-2 in league play, came out of the gate in the second half, firing on all cylinders as Whitney Williams gave TCU a 32-29 lead, drilling a triple early on in the second frame. On the very next possession, Latricia Lovings, who moved into No. 4 all-time in blocked shots Saturday in program history, found a cutting Thompson to push the Frog lead, who forced two turnovers during that stretch, to five at 34-29. In all, TCU went on a 14-2 run between the two periods.
Boise State, who moved to 11-8 overall and 2-2 in Mountain West action after the loss, would pull within one at 34-33 a few moments later, but Ashley Colbert would have nothing of it as she scored on a nice turn-around inside the paint. A Ventress triple at the 15:47 mark gave TCU a 39-35 advantage and the Frogs would jump on top as the freshman would answer the Broncos time and time again.
With the Frogs up 51-48, Prince gave TCU a five-point lead, knifing her way through the Boise State defense and scooping a shot over the top of the rim. A few moments later, Williams found a sprinting Lovings down the court, whom promptly powered it home to give TCU a 55-50 lead with 6:49 left to go in the contest.
Boise State would tie the game at 55-55, but Briesha Wynn found Ventress in the lane for a wide-open bucket at the 5:30 mark of the second half to silence the crowd at Taco Bell Arena. A couple of minutes later, Prince rebounded the rock and promptly found Lovings down low to push the Frogs back on top at 60-58 with a little over 3 minutes remaining in the contest.
In closing minutes of the game, Thompson drilled a three after her defender had fallen down to give TCU a 65-60 lead, but the pesky Broncos would connect on a triple of their own to pull back within two with 1:50 left on the clock. Gross answered right back though, nailing a trey of her own the next trip down the court to push the Purple and White lead back to five at 68-63.
Down the stretch, Ventress calmly stepped to the line and knocked down four-straight free throws to help TCU record the 74-68 decision.
TCU opened the game having Gross and Wynn drop it in from deep, but Boise State answered with a three of its own 4 minutes into the contest to make the score 7-6 early. A few moments later, Lovings found a cutting Gross, who gave TCU a one-point lead at 8-7.
The two teams would trade possessions the next couple of trips down the court until Boise State jumped out to a 16-10 lead halfway through the opening frame on a mini 6-0 run. Thompson buried a deep three at the 9:23 mark to halt the run and bring the Frogs within three.
With Boise State up 23-13, Gross connected on a three-ball from the left side of the court to spark the Purple and White as both Colbert and Lovings powered shots home from inside the paint to make the score 25-20 a few moments later.
A 9-0 run gave TCU a 29-27 lead in the final minutes of the first half, which included a nice tip-in from Prince following a miss by Colbert. In all, Prince recorded six of the Purple and White's nine points during the run to bring the halftime score to 29-29 at the break.
TCU will continue life on the road with an 8:00 p.m. CT contest at Air Force next Wednesday.
