TCU
5-1
Idaho
2-3
TCU Wins Title in California
11/26/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. -- The TCU women's basketball team won the championship at the Warner Center Marriott Thanksgiving Classic, beating Idaho, 86-76, on Saturday night at the Matadome.
Amy Okonkwo earned tournament MVP honors after scoring 22 points, including 10-of-10 free throws, and posting 11 rebounds. Jordan Moore added 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting, while Toree Thompson had 14 points and was named to the all-tournament team.
TCU (5-1) exploded for nine 3-pointers in the first half and raced out to a 16-point second quarter lead for the second straight night. Also for the second straight night, the Frogs had to withstand their opponent's run as Idaho (2-3) got within four points in the second half.
The Frogs welcomed the return of Kianna Ray who missed the first five games due to injury. The sophomore gave the Frogs an instant spark, hitting a 3-pointer on her first possession. Ray finished with eight points and seven assists in 21 minutes
Defining Moments
The Frogs used a 13-0 run in the first quarter and a 12-0 run in the second quarter to light up the first-half scoreboard. After hitting nine 3-pointers in the game's first 15 minutes, the Frogs took a 47-36 lead into the halftime break.
Idaho would get within four points, 51-47, midway through the third quarter as the Frogs struggled offensively to open the second half. The TCU lead would hover around two possessions until midway through the fourth quarter.
The Frogs led 72-65 when Thompson hit her fourth 3-pointer and Moore scored inside to push the lead to 12 points, 77-65, with 6:11 remaining. The Frogs would hold Idaho, a historically great 3-point shooting team, to 1-of-9 from long range in the fourth quarter to pull out the win.
Stats of the Game
88 -- TCU, which leads the Big 12 in free throw percentage, hit a season-best 21-of-24 from the charity stripe for 88 percent. The Frogs were led by Okonkwo's 10-of-10 effort. She is now 19-of-20 for the season.
Quote of the Game
"I think it's really important for us to beat a team like Idaho. They are going to be a high-RPI team that is really going to challenge for a conference championship. They've been to the NCAA Tournament so many times and are really well coached. They are a team that runs a system that we did not do a very good job of defending in Fort Worth against Yale, so it was really good to see our team lock in." -- Raegan Pebley
Up Next
The Frogs will have a break before they return to the court. TCU's next game will be back in Schollmaier Arena on Friday when the Frogs host Alabama in the Big 12/SEC Challenge on Fort Worth ISD Day with tipoff scheduled for 12 p.m.
