Horned Frogs Open Conference Slate At San Diego State
1/9/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 9, 2012
GAME DAY INFORMATION
TCU Horned Frogs(7-8, 0-0 Mountain West)
Head Coach: Jeff Mittie
Career Record: 418-193 (7-8 Season)
School Record: 267-134 (13th Season)
San Diego State(10-4, 0-0 Mountain West)
Head Coach: Beth Burns
San Diego State Career Record: 253-176 (10-4 season)
Location: San Diego, Calif. • Arena: Viejas Arena
Rankings: TCU - NR/NR • San Diego State - NR/NR
Last Time Out: TCU lost to Harvard, 56-44
Television: The Mtn.
Television Talent: Tracy Warren (Play-By-Play); Krista Blunk (Color)
Live Video: None
Live Audio: http://gofrogs.cstv.com/allaccess
Live Stats: GoFrogs.com (Gametracker)
Radio: KTCU (88.7 FM) Jeff Williams (Play-By-Play); Jeff Lewis (Color)
Twitter Updates: http://twitter.com/TCUWbasketball
Series Record vs. San Diego State: TCU leads, 12-5
Last Meeting vs. San Diego State: Feb. 5, 2011 (W, 63-52)
FORT WORTH, Texas - TCU will open 2012 conference play with a road game at San Diego State on Wednesday night at Viejas Arena. Tip-off is set for 10:00 p.m. CT in San Diego, Calif. The Horned Frogs will look to win their third-straight contest over the Aztecs and will meet for the 18th time on the hardwood.
Wednesday's game will be shown live on The Mtn., with Tracy Warren (Play-By-Play) and Krista Blunk (Color) calling the action.
The Opponent
San Diego State comes into Wednesday night's game with a 10-4 overall record and have won six-straight, including a 74-60 decision over Cal State Bakersfield in its last outing. Junior Chelsea Hopkins led the Aztecs against the Roadrunners with a career-high 21 points, while three other players scored in double-figures. Junior Courtney Clements has led the Aztec attack this season, averaging 16.6 points per game and 4.9 boards. SDSU comes into Wednesday's outing with a 6-1 overall record at home this winter and haven't lost since the beginning of December.
The Series
TCU and San Diego State will be meeting for the 18th time on Wednesday night. The Horned Frogs lead the all-time series, 12-5, and have won two-straight over the Aztecs. Overall, the Frogs have won three out of the last four contests over San Diego State.
Conference Openers
TCU will begin Mountain West play at San Diego State Wednesday, marking the third-straight season in which the Horned Frogs will open MW play away from Fort Worth. The Frogs are 5-1 in Mountain West conference openers since 2006 and have won five-straight. Overall, TCU is 2-0 against the Aztecs in conference openers.
An Inside Look At Conference Openers
During the six previous Mountain West conference openers, the Horned Frogs have downed their opponent by an average score of almost 20 points. TCU hasn't lost a conference opener since falling to Wyoming, 68-67, in 2006. Overall, head coach Jeff Mittie is 8-4 in conference openers during his time at TCU.
Getting To Intermission On Top A Key
In 15 games, TCU has shown that if it can get to the halftime break with a lead then ultimately the Horned Frogs will come away with a victory, going 6-1 this season when leading at the break. The only loss came at the hands of Hartford when the Purple and White led by three at the break. When TCU hasn't led at intermission, the Frogs are 1-7 overall, with its only win coming after trailing by eight to Sam Houston State earlier this year.
TCU In The Mountain West - A BRIEF HISTORY
The Frogs have been a tough adversary for league opponents over the last six seasons.
• The Frogs own a 72-24 all-time league record in the MW and are the only team to record at least 11 wins in each of the past six seasons.
• The Frogs are also the only league team to finish in third place or better in each of the last six seasons.
• The Frogs 72-24 mark is currently the best record in the MW during the last six years.
Ventress Starting To Heat Up
Freshman Natalie Ventress has led TCU in scoring five out of the last six games, including three-straight 15 + point outings against Texas Southern, UTPA and Harvard. So far this season, the freshman has led the Frogs in scoring seven times, becoming the first Horned Frog freshman to lead the Purple and White in scoring in seven games since former Horned Frog and current professional Helena Sverrisdottir carried TCU in eight games during the 2007-08 season. By leading the Frogs in scoring the last four games, Ventress joined Sverrisdottir as the only freshman to lead a TCU squad in scoring in at least three-straight games since the Iceland native did so in three out of four games in February of 2008.
Holding Their Own
TCU held Harvard without a three-pointer during the second half, marking the third-straight home game an opponent has went scoreless from deep during a half. The Frogs are now 3-1 this season when accomplishing that feat, having done so at Houston earlier this year as well. In the past two seasons, TCU has now held seven different opponents to no triples during a half of play, with its only losses in that stretch coming to West Virginia and Harvard.
Wynn Stepping Up Her Play
Sophomore Briesha Wynn has been making her presence known on the offensive end of the court since the beginning of December. The sophomore has scored in double-figures in five of the Horned Frogs' last nine games, including four out of the last seven. During the past two years, the Horned Frogs have been almost automatic in the win column when Wynn scores double-digit points, going a combined 8-2, with its only losses coming to Texas A&M and UTPA when she scored a career-high 14 points in both contests.
Iron Unkind From Three-Point Land
Heading into Wednesday's game against SDSU, the Frogs have held six different opponents to less than 20 percent shooting from behind the arc, including Texas Southern who shot 12.5 percent and didn't make a single-three in the first half, going 0-for-6. In six of TCU's victories this winter, UTSA (10.3), Fordham (19.2), Houston (15.4), Sam Houston State (16.7), Tulsa (16.7) and TSU (12.5) have all shot under 20 percent from three. The Frogs are now 18-1 the last three seasons when holding the opposition to under 20 percent. TCU's only loss came last season against future conference opponent West Virginia when the Mountaineers shot 16.6 percent from three and won.
NCAA Stats Update
As the Frogs entered this week's game, TCU ranked in the top 50 in the nation in field-goal percentage defense (No. 10 - 32.4), three-point field goal defense (No. 45 - 26.7) and blocked shots per game (No. 8 - 6.5). Individually, sophomore Latricia Lovings currently sits No. 42 in the nation in blocks per game (2.1), while junior Whitney Williams ranked No. 28 in assists turnover ratio (2.1).
Last Time Out
TCU rallied to pull within nine last Saturday night, but Harvard was able to knock down some timely free throws to escape Daniel-Meyer Coliseum with a 56-44 victory.
The Horned Frogs (7-8) used a 20-6 run midway through the second half Saturday to pull within nine, but couldn't complete the second half flurry. During that stretch, TCU picked up the defensive intensity to the tune of holding Harvard, now 7-6 on the season, without a field goal from the field for over 6 minutes of action. The Horned Frogs stifling defense down the stretch also limited the Crimson to only two made field goals on 12 attempts in the last 11 minutes of Saturday's contest.
For a fourth-straight game, Natalie Ventress led TCU in scoring, netting 16 points, while also securing six boards. Fellow freshman Chelsea Prince also had a solid return to the TCU lineup Saturday with seven points, four rebounds, two blocks and one steal.
Up Next
TCU will continue conference play against Colorado State on Saturday, Jan. 14.
