TCU Plays Host to West Virginia Tuesday
2/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
FORT WORTH, Texas - The TCU women's basketball team continues its push for postseason play when it hosts West Virginia at 7 p.m., on Tuesday at the University Recreation Center.
FOLLOW LIVE
Tuesday's contest will be televised on FOX Sports Southwest Plus with Chuck LaMendola (play-by-play) and Janice Dziuk (analyst) calling all of the action.
Fans can also listen to Tuesday's contest on the radio broadcast on KTCU 88.7 and FrogVision with Russell Scott and Ashley Robinson on the call.
For live updates, fans can follow @tcuwbasketball on Twitter or by viewing GameTracker.
TCU NOTABLES
• The Horned Frogs lead the Big 12 in turnover margin (+3.4) while ranking second in free-throw percentage (.756) and steals (10.8 spg) and third in 3-pointers made per game (6.9).
• TCU dropped a 91-75 decision in its last action to No. 3 Baylor in Waco on Saturday. The 75 points were the most scored against the Lady Bears this season.
• TCU's defense has created plenty of offense this season, as the Horned Frogs have averaged 19.4 points per game off turnovers. TCU has tallied 20 or more points off turnovers in 11 games, including a high of 36 against SMU and Texas Southern.
• Junior guard Zahna Medley ranks third in the Big 12 in 3-pointers per game (2.2) and fifth in scoring (15.1 ppg) while leading the league in free-throw percentage (.857). Medley, who holds the highest career scoring average in school history (15.1 ppg), has scored in double figures in 65 career contests, including 19 of 25 games this season.
• Junior guard Veja Hamilton is averaging 14.8 points over the last 16 contests where she has scored in double figures in 14 of the games. Hamilton entered the 2014-15 season with 10 total double-digit performances. Hamilton has shot 53 percent (108-204) over the last 16 games for a team-best 49-percent mark on the season. Hamilton ranks sixth in the Big 12 in field-goal percentage (.511) and seventh in scoring (14.2 ppg) in league games.
• Senior forward Chelsea Prince earned her 200th-career steal on Feb. 11 and ranks sixth all-time in program history with 218 steals. Prince currently leads the Big 12 with 3.2 steals per game and needs just 12 more to set the TCU single-season record. The Fort Worth native has averaged 4.4 steals over the last nine contests.
• Junior guard Natalie Ventress has scored in double figures in seven-straight games after hitting 10+ points just once in the previous nine contests. Ventress has connected on 18 of her last 40 3-point attempts (45 percent) and ranks third in the Big 12 in 3-point percentage (.391).
THE OPPONENT
West Virginia topped Iowa State on Saturday to improve to 16-11 overall and 6-9 in Big 12 play.
The Mountaineers are one of the more physical squads in the Big 12, leading the league in blocks (6.8 bpg) while ranking second in offensive rebounds (15.3 rpg) and third in rebounding (42.4 rpg).
Junior guard Bria Holmes ranks second in the Big 12 with 19.1 points per game and has attempted the second-most free-throws in the league with 138. Senior forward Averee Fields is also scoring in double figures with 13.1 points per contest, while 6-foot-5 center Lanay Montgomery leads the Big 12 in blocks (3.6 bpg) and ranks third in offensive rebounds (2.9 rpg) and fifth in rebounds (7.5 rpg).
THE SERIES
TCU and West Virgnia will meet for the ninth time overall and the second time this season, as the Horned Frogs will look for their first win in the series.
The last four meetings between the two teams have been decided by eight points or less, including a 76-71 TCU loss in Morgantown this season. The Mountaineers are 2-0 against the Horned Frogs in Fort Worth.
UP NEXT
Following Tuesday's contest against West Virginia, the Horned Frogs remain home to play host to Kansas State on Senior Day on Saturday at 2 p.m. TCU then closes out the regular season at Texas on March 3 before competing at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship in Dallas on March 6-9.
LAST TIME OUT
TCU fell short in a hard-fought battle to third-ranked Baylor by a score of 91-75 on Saturday in Waco.
Chelsea Prince led four Horned Frogs in double figures with 16 points, highlighted by a perfect 8-of-8 performance from the free-throw line.
Donielle Breaux tallied 14 points in just 20 minutes off the bench, while Natalie Ventress hit the double-digit mark for the seventh-straight game with 13 points. AJ Alix provided a spark off the bench down the stretch, chipping in 11 points in just 10 minutes of action.
Veja Hamilton pulled down a career-best 12 rebounds to go with six points, while Zahna Medley handed out eight assists with seven points.
The Frogs were back-and-forth with the Lady Bears early on and remained within six points at the 9:00 mark of the first half on a Breaux floater.
Baylor ran out to its first double-digit advantage at 30-18 as TCU went without points for over four minutes before Breaux snapped the skid with back-to-back layups.
Ventress followed up with her first 3-point bucket of the contest to cut the deficit to five at the 4:05 mark, but Baylor answered with three-straight 3-pointers and took a 41-30 lead into the break.
Medley opened the second half with a 3-pointer, and following a Baylor bucket, Prince knocked down a trifecta to pull TCU within seven (43-36) at the 19:04 mark.
The Frogs would stay within striking distance until the Bears used a 9-1 run to move out to a 77-54 advantage.
The Horned Frogs' 75 points were the most scored against the Lady Bears this season.
AT HOME IN FORT WORTH
TCU has enjoyed much success at home in Fort Worth over the last 15-plus seasons, earning a 205-53 (.795) record since the start of the 1999-2000 campaign.
TCU is 12-3 at home this season, including wins over No. 13 Texas and No. 16 Oklahoma State, and has claimed 12 of its last 18 Big 12 contests in Fort Worth. TCU's lone losses at home this season have come to No. 3, Baylor, No. 5 Texas A&M and No. 24 Oklahoma.
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 has competed in 117 games with 108 starts, moved into sixth place all-time in career scoring on Feb. 4 and has 1,374 career points. Ventress also ranks fifth in 3-pointers made (190), seventh in made field goals (461) and eighth in free throws (262).
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 leads the Big 12 in steals (3.2 spg), ranks sixth all-time with 218 career steals. The Fort Worth product currently ranks seventh with 84 steals this season and needs just 12 more for the TCU single-season record.
Junior guard Zahna Medley, who entered the 1,000-points club on Nov. 19, ranks in the top 10 in five prominent categories, including fourth in made 3-pointers (211), fifth in assists (362), sixth in scoring (1,330) and ninth in made field goals (432) and made free throws (255).
