TCU Ready for Showdown Against Oklahoma
1/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
FORT WORTH, Texas - The TCU women's basketball team returns home to play host to Oklahoma in a battle at the top of the Big 12 standings at 1 p.m., on Saturday at the University Recreation Center. Fans can purchase tickets on a walk-up basis at the ticket window prior to the start of the contest.
The first 250 fans in attendance at Saturday's contest will receive a free "Frogs Up! Cup".
FOLLOW LIVE
Saturday's contest will be televised on FOX Sports Southwest with Chuck LaMendola calling of the action and Janice Dziuk providing analysis.
Fans can also listen to the contest on the radio broadcast on KTCU 88.7 and FrogVision with Russell Scott on the call.
For live updates, fans can follow @tcuwbasketball on Twitter or by viewing GameTracker.
THE OPPONENT
Oklahoma comes to Fort Worth as one of only two Big 12 teams currently undefeated in the league through the first four contests. The Sooners upset No. 4 Texas in their last action and have won all Big 12 games by double digits.
The Sooners feature one of the top offenses in the league, ranking second in scoring (76.7 ppg) and 3-pointers per game (6.7) and third in field-goal percentage (.450). Oklahoma is currently surrendering the most points in the conference as opponents are averaging 67.7 points per contest.
Senior guard Sharane Campbell paces OU with 11.1 points per game while shooting 51 percent from the field. Sophomore Peyton Little is also averaging double figures with 10.4 points per game, while 6-foot-3 forward Kaylon Williams has added 10.3 points per contest while ranking second in the league in field-goal percentage (.622).
THE SERIES
TCU and Oklahoma will face off for the 20th time in the series that dates back to the 1991-92 season, as the Sooners hold a 15-4 advantage all time.
The teams split a pair of contests last season, as TCU dropped a 63-52 decision in Norman before knocking off the Sooners on senior day in Fort Worth by a score of 76-66. Zahna Medley (22), Natalie Ventress (20) and Veja Hamilton (16) all scored in double figures in the win.
The Horned Frogs have claimed all four wins in the series in Fort Worth.
UP NEXT
Following Saturday's contest with Oklahoma, the Horned Frogs return to the road for back-to-back contests against Iowa State (Jan. 21) and Oklahoma State (Jan. 24).
TCU returns home on Jan. 27 to play host to Baylor.
LAST TIME OUT
TCU kept its momentum rolling on Wednesday night with an 80-63 road victory over Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse. The Horned Frogs claimed their third-straight Big 12 win for the first time since joining the conference.
Zahna Medley registered her second-career double-double with 21 points and 11 assists while going 8-of-13 from the field and 5-of-7 from the free-throw line.
Veja Hamilton reached double figures for the sixth time in the last seven games with 20 points, going 9-of-14 from the field, while also grabbing a team-high eight rebounds.
Chelsea Prince tallied a career-best 19 points off an 8-of-16 effort from the field, including a 3-of-7 mark from distance, while swiping four steals.
The Horned Frogs' opportunistic defense paid dividends once again, as TCU scored 27 points off of 22 Kansas turnovers compared to just 10 Frog miscues.
The two teams were back-and-forth through the opening 10 minutes, and with TCU trailing 22-21 at the 7:45 mark, the Frogs closed the half on a 17-4 run to take a 38-26 lead into the break.
The Jayhawks trimmed the deficit all the way down to two in the second half, but the Frogs answered with a 14-5 run to cruise to the victory.
GOING STREAKING
The Horned Frogs have caught fire since the second half of the Iowa State contest where they overcame a 24-point second-half deficit, claiming three-straight Big 12 wins for the first time since joining the league.
TCU set program records for largest halftime deficit in a win (23) and most second half points (65) in its win over the Cyclones, and has followed up with victories over No. 16 Oklahoma State and Kansas.
The Frogs have averaged 78.7 points over the last three contests, with 23.0 of those points coming off of opponent turnovers.
Zahna Medley has averaged nearly 20 points (19.7 ppg) while shooting 21-of-25 in the last three games, while Veja Hamilton has averaged 17.0 points and shot 60 percent from the field and Chelsea Prince has added 16.7 points in the three contests.
HAMILTON'S HOT HAND
Junior guard Veja Hamilton is currently in the midst of a career stretch, averaging 17.0 points over the last five contests while reaching double figures in six of the last seven outings.
The Spring, Texas, native rattled off a career-best 24 points against UC Irvine on Dec. 30, where she went 11-of-14 from the field. Hamilton has followed up with double figures in each of TCU's four Big 12 contests, including just her third-career 20-point game at Kansas on Wednesday.
Hamilton, who enrolled at TCU at the age of 16, has shot 62 percent (40-65) over the last five games for a team-best 50-percent mark on the season. Hamilton ranks third in the Big 12 in field-goal percentage (.569) in league games.
A LUCRATIVE DEFENSE
TCU's style of defense is designed to create opportunities on offense, and the Horned Frogs have done just that in the current three-game winning streak, averaging 23.0 points off of turnovers. TCU tallied 27 points off of 22 miscues in Wednesday's 80-63 win at Kansas.
In TCU's come-from-behind victory over Iowa State on Jan. 7, the Frogs tallied 32 points off of 21 turnovers.
Trailing by as much as 24 points in the second half, TCU amped up the defensive pressure and tallied 29 points off of turnovers in the final 17 minutes compared to just two Horned Frog miscues.
TCU is scoring an average of 21.3 points per game off of opponent turnovers this season, including a high of 36 against SMU and Texas Southern.
CASHING IN ON FREEBIES
TCU head coach Raegan Pebley made free-throw shooting a point of emphasis for the Horned Frogs, setting a goal of 80 percent each game, which TCU has nearly hit this season with a 77 percent mark that ranks second in the Big 12.
The Horned Frogs have gotten to the charity stripe more than the opposition in nine of 15 games, where TCU is 8-1.
Chelsea Prince (.898) and Zahna Medley (.881) currently rank second and third in the league in free-throw percentage.
AT HOME IN FORT WORTH
TCU has enjoyed much success at home in Fort Worth over the last 15-plus seasons, earning a 202-51 (.798) record since the start of the 1999-2000 campaign.
TCU improved to 9-1 at home this season following Saturday's win over No. 16 Oklahoma State, and has claimed nine of its last 14 Big 12 contests in Fort Worth. TCU's lone loss at home this season came to No. 5 Texas A&M.
The Horned Frogs earned a 13-4 mark at home last season, including a respectable 5-4 record against Big 12 opponents, featuring the program's first-ever win over Texas and a victory over Oklahoma on Senior Night.
MILESTONE WATCH
A trio of Horned Frogs currently appear in the top 10 of the program's career records and look to continue climbing the chart this season.
Senior guard Natalie Ventress, who competed in her 100th-career contest on Dec. 13, is currently eighth all-time with 1,248 points while moving into fifth place on Wednesday with 168 career 3-pointers. The Fort Worth native is eighth in made free throws (248) and ninth in field goals (416).
Ventress has averaged double figures in scoring in each of her three seasons in the Purple and White and looks to become just the second Horned Frog in program history to achieve the feat in all four years, joining TCU great Sandora Irvin.
Fellow senior Chelsea Prince, who led the Big 12 a season ago with 2.4 steals per game in league play, tallied three steals in TCU's win over Iowa State to move into 10th place all-time. The Fort Worth product has averaged 2.8 steals over the last 27 contests.
Junior guard Zahna Medley, who entered the 1,000-points club on Nov. 19, entered the top 10 in scoring on Wednesday with 1,185 points, while currently ranking fourth in 3-pointers made (189) and sixth in assists (309).
