Frogs Host No. 25 West Virgnia
1/23/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 23, 2016
TCU (11-7, 3-4) vs. West Virginia (15-4, 4-2) | |
|---|---|
| Date (Time) | Sunday, Jan. 24, 2016 (Noon CT) |
| Location | Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena | Fort Worth, Texas |
| TV | Fox Sports Southwest |
| Radio Listing | KTCU 88.7 FM in the DFW Metroplex Jeff Williams (play-by-play) |
| Live Stats | GoFrogs.com |
| Game Notes | TCU Game Notes |
FORT WORTH, Texas -- TCU continues a demanding portion of its 2015-16 season on Sunday when it faces its fourth ranked opponent in six games in hosting No. 25 West Virginia at Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena.
Tipoff is set for noon CT. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Southwest with Chuck LaMendola (play-by-play) and TCU great Janice Dziuk (analyst) on the call. The game is also available on the radio via KTCU 88.7 FM in the DFW Metroplex and through GoFrogs.com with Jeff Williams (play-by-play) on the call. It is the final home game before TCU embarks on a three-game road swing that includes dates at Iowa State, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma.
The West Virginia game marks the end of a six-game stretch for the Horned Frogs that pits the Frogs against four ranked opponents in #17 Oklahoma on Jan. 6, #6 Baylor on Jan. 9, #6 Texas on Jan. 20 and #25 West Virginia on Jan. 24. TCU will have faced six ranked teams by the end of January thanks to two games against ranked foes this week. It is the first time in program history that TCU will have played six ranked teams in a season before the month of January ends. With a second game against current ranked teams Oklahoma, Texas, Baylor and West Virginia still likely on the 2015-16 schedule, the Frogs are in line to face a record number of ranked foes in 2015-16. TCU faced 10 ranked foes during the 2005-06 season. It faced nine ranked foes in 2012-13 and 2013-14. TCU has previously faced seven or more ranked foes in 1994-95, 2005-06, 2010-11, 2012-13 and 2013-14.
2015-16 HIGHLIGHTS
• TCU overcame a 15-point second half deficit on Dec. 30, 2015 to beat Texas Tech in Lubbock to help TCU win their Big 12 Conference opener for the first time in program history. The Frogs opened league play with a 2-0 record.
• TCU began play in the new Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena on Dec. 20, 2015 with a win over Southern Utah. The $72 million renovation gives TCU one of the nation's premier basketball venues.
• TCU ended its two-year tenure in the University Recreation Center on Dec. 12, 2015 when the Horned Frogs hosted No. 3/3 Notre Dame. The Frogs went 21-4 in 25 games in the venue with three of the four losses coming at the hands of teams ranked in the top five nationally. The tenure in the venue included a 12-game home winning streak that was the third longest in TCU history for home games.
• Zahna Medley and Veja Hamilton earned preseason All-Big 12 Conference honors in a vote of the league's coaches. Medley earned first team honors while Hamilton was awarded honorable mention selections.
• TCU was picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 Conference in a tally of the league's head coaches. TCU was just one point behind fourth place Iowa State. The Frogs have finished ahead of where they were picked in the preseason standings in the league in each of the last two seasons.
• The Horned Frogs have signed one of the best recruiting classes in program history and one of the nation's top 10 classes this year with the November 2015 signings of Amber Ramirez, Mikayla Christian, Kianna Ray, Ella Hellessey and Danielle Rainey. Ramirez is the top signee in the class and is ranked among the top 15 players nationally, making her the second highest rated player to sign with TCU in program history behind Sandora Irvin (ranked 6th prior to joining Frogs).
TALKING POINTS AND NOTABLE STATISTICS
• TCU is in a stretch of six games that will pit the Frogs against four ranked opponents in #17 Oklahoma on Jan. 6, #6 Baylor on Jan. 9, #6 Texas on Jan. 20 and #25 West Virginia on Jan. 24.
• Baylor is the only team in the Big 12 Conference that has faced more ranked opponents than TCU this season. • Following the West Virginia game, TCU embarks on a three-game road trip against Iowa State, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. The trio of teams are a combined 26-2 at home this season entering this weekend's games.
• Senior Zahna Medley is one of two players in Big 12 Conference history to score 1,500 points, hit 250 three-point field goals, dish out 400 assists and get 125 or more steals in their career. The only other player to achieve the feat is current Dallas Wings start and former Baylor star Odyssey Sims.
• TCU has held their last three opponents to 65 points or less but are just 1-2 in those games after scoring just 58.7 points per game in those contests. TCU scored at least 69 in their first four games of league play. • TCU currently has six players averaging at least 8.0 points per game. In program history, TCU's 1999-00 team had six players average at least 8.0 points per game and the program has had nine teams have at least five players average 8.0 points per game or more for a season.
• TCU is in its second season under the leadership of head coach Raegan Pebley. Pebley led TCU to 18 wins in 2014-15, the most wins in a coaches' first-year at TCU in program history.
• Nine players on the TCU roster have at least one career start to their name.
• TCU played seven games in the opening 19 days of the season, including road trips to SMU, Texas A&M and Butler.
SERIES NOTABLES
• West Virginia leads the all-time series 8-1.
• TCU won the most recent meeting between the teams on Feb. 24, 2015 in Fort Worth with the Frogs winning 73-63.
FACING THE RANKED
Head coach Raegan Pebley is 2-8 against ranked opponents since becoming the head coach of the Horned Frogs. The mark includes an 0-4 record against teams in the top five but 2-4 against teams ranked - but outside the top five.
RANKINGS LEFTOVERS
• TCU will have faced six ranked teams by the end of January thanks to two games against ranked foes this week. It is the first time in program history that TCU will have played six ranked teams in a season before the month of January ends.
• TCU has faced three different teams ranked in the top 6 nationally this season.
• With a second game against current ranked teams Oklahoma, Texas, Baylor and West Virginia still on the 2015-16 schedule, the Frogs are in line to face a record number of ranked foes in 2015-16. TCU faced 10 ranked foes during the 2005-06 season. It faced nine ranked foes in 2012-13 and 2013-14. TCU has previously faced seven or more ranked foes in 1994-95, 2005-06, 2010-11, 2012-13 and 2013-14.
QUEENS OF THE COMEBACK
TCU has shown a knack for coming from behind to win under head coach Raegan Pebley. TCU posted six wins last season after they overcame a deficit of eight points or more in the contest.
The most notable came in a 86-84 win over Iowa State to help head coach Raegan Pebley record her first career win against a Big 12 opponents. TCU followed that win with another victory over Oklahoma State just three days later, erasing an eight-point deficit to register a 70-66 win.
TCU has won six conference games over the last two seasons when they faced a deficit of 8 or more during the game.
LOOKING TO CLOSE THE DEAL
TCU has built big leads against multiple ranked teams this season but been unable to hold on and win the game. On four occasions, the Frogs have lost a game in which they held a double-digit lead.
TCU also lost a 14-point lead in the second round of the 2015 Women's NIT last year at Southern Miss in a 77-73 loss to close out the 2014-15 season.
#SchollmaierEffect
The Frogs are off to a 3-2 start in the Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena and offensive numbers in the first five games in the venue show the Frogs have found a happy home. TCU is shooting 43.3 percent from behind three-point range and are 39-of-90 from behind the red lines that make up the three-point arc in the Walsh Family Court.
ONE OF THE NATION'S BEST HOME COURT ADVANTAGES
The Horned Frogs are 217-56 (.795) at home since the start of the 1999-2000 season.
Over the last three seasons, the Horned Frogs have posted a 37-10 mark at home as it has settled into its transition into the nation's toughest women's basketball league - the Big 12 Conference.
MEDLEY PASSES Edwina Brown ON BIG 12 SCORING LIST Senior Zahna Medley passed TCU assistant coach and Texas legend Edwina Brown on the all-time Big 12 Conference scoring list on Jan. 20 against Texas with her three-point field goal early in the first quarter that gave Medley her fifth point on the day.
Medley joined elite company on Nov. 24, 2015 against Prairie View A&M when she became the 45th player to score 1,500 career points as a player in the Big 12 Conference. The list includes current TCU assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Edwina Brown. • Medley became the 5th player in TCU women's basketball history to reach the 1,500 career point mark. • Medley became the 14th player in the combined history of TCU women's basketball and TCU men's basketball to reach the 1,500 career point mark when she surpasses the mark.
MEDLEY LEFTOVERS
• Medley has scored in double figures or had at least three assists in every game this season and in all but four games of her career (108-of-112).
• Medley has knocked down at least three three-point field goals in 13-of-18 games this season. She accomplished the feat nine times last season and has done it 46 times in her career.
#TripleThreat
The Frogs are among the nation's top three-point shooting teams and currently have the top three three-point shooters in the Big 12 Conference overall on the season with AJ Alix (.464), Toree Thompson (.455) and Zahna Medley (.440) leading the way.
FROGS' 3-POINT SUCCESS AMONG BEST IN BIG 12 CONFERENCE HISTORY
TCU's 39.6 percent shooting clip in 2015-16 is among the best in Big 12 Conference history. The Frogs are trying to finish among the top 10 in the nation in three point shooting to become the first team since Oklahoma in 2012-13 to finish in the top 10 nationally in three-point field goal shooting.
Overall, 14 teams have finished in the top 10 nationally in three-point field goal percentage from the Big 12 Conference.
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