Conner's Return Sparks TCU to 79-72 Win at Cincinnati

Saturday, February 17

Cincinnati, Ohio

1 PM

TCU

16-9,3-9Big 12

Cincinnati

12-13,4-10Big 12

TCU

Cincinnati

Conner's Return Sparks TCU to 79-72 Win at Cincinnati

2/17/2024 7:52:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Postgame Press Conference

Junior finishes with 31 points in first game since Jan. 13

CINCINNATI, Ohio – Madison Conner returned from the disabled list, and so too did TCU's winning ways.

Conner torched Cincinnati for 31 points to lift TCU to a 79-72 victory over the Bearcats on Saturday at Fifth Third Arena.

The Big 12's active leading scorer, Conner missed the Horned Frogs last six games due to injury. TCU (16-9, 3-11 Big 12) went 1-5 in the absence of its 21.5-point-per-game scorer.

Sydney Harris created a two-headed offensive monster, as the 6-2 guard tallied 27 points – 22 of which came in the second half. TCU matched its season-high for 3-pointers, draining 14-35 attempts behind the arc. The Horned Frogs went 10-12 at the foul line over the final 1:48 to salt away the result.

TCU earned its first Big 12 road win in three seasons and halted a 25-game road losing streak. The victory also guaranteed TCU a winning overall record for the first time since the 2019-20 campaign.

Along the way, Mark Campbell became the first first-year head coach in program history to double the Horned Frogs' win tally from the previous season. Campbell has now generated a combined 30-game year-over-year win improvement in his three seasons as a head coach.

Conner went 7-15 from downtown. She collected 16 of her points in the ballgame's first 12 minutes. Conner entered the locker room with 22 points to stake TCU to a 39-31 halftime lead.

TCU led for more than 38 minutes of the contest. Conner and Harris combined for 15 first quarter points.

Consecutive 3-pointers by Conner to start the second quarter sparked a 12-2 run that widened TCU's advantage to 29-18 with 6:37 to go in the first half.

Cincinnati (12-13, 4-10 Big 12) scored six unanswered to trim the deficit to 30-26 four minutes later. Victoria Flores and Conner promptly put TCU back in front by double digits with back-to-back triples.

TCU finished 8-17 from long range in the first half. Conner produced a 6-9 clip on 3-pointers.

Harris scorched Cincinnati for 14 third quarter points and gave TCU a 61-47 lead – its largest of the afternoon – entering the final frame. She single-handedly ignited an 11-0 run that restored TCU's double-digit lead at 54-40 at the 4:06 mark of the period.

Cincinnati crawled within seven points of the Horned Frogs twice to begin the fourth quarter, but Conner and Harris countered with a 3-pointer each time. Harris' long ball – her fifth of the game – made the score 69-59 in favor of the Frogs.

The Bearcats never got any closer than five points of TCU the rest of the way. Conner was 6-6 at the foul line in the fourth quarter.

Agnes Emma-Nnopu pulled down a team-leading seven rebounds while Aaliyah Roberson pitched in two blocks.

Victoria Flores led all players with four assists.

TCU held Cincinnati to 36 percent shooting (21-58).

The Horned Frogs committed a season-low six turnovers.

Up Next

TCU caps a two-game road trip with a jaunt west to face BYU at 8 p.m. CT on Wednesday in Provo. It will be the second meeting between the teams. The Horned Frogs downed the Cougars 81-67 in its conference-opener on Dec. 30. Following the tussle in the mountains, TCU returns home to battle Houston and Texas Tech on Feb. 24 and Feb. 28, respectively.

Team Notes

TCU won its first conference road game since March 4, 2021, an 83-79 defeat of Oklahoma. The Horned Frogs arrived in the Ohio Valley as losers of 23 consecutive Big 12 road affairs.
TCU's 14 three-pointers came at the expense of a Cincinnati squad that entered holding teams to 26 percent shooting from downtown.
The Horned Frogs have drained 14 three-pointers three times this season.
TCU has made 243 three-pointers and is 11 shy of breaking the program's single season record.
The Horned Frogs' 243 three-pointers rank third on TCU's single-season program record book.
TCU has hit double figures in 3-pointers in 13 of its 25 games.
The Horned Frogs 79 points were their most in 12 games.
TCU improved to 6-1 all-time vs. the Bearcats and has won five straight in the all-time series between the schools.
TCU doubled its overall win total from the previous year for the seventh time in its 47-season existence.

Individual Notes

Conner notched her Big 12-leading third 30-point game of the season.
Conner became the second player to produce three 30-point games in the same season, joining Lauren Heard (2020-21).
Conner is now tied for second in program history for most career 30-point games, trailing only four from Heard for a spot atop the record book.
Conner's 22 first half points were the most by any TCU player this season.
Conner has now drained at least seven three-pointers in four games.
Conner's season 3-pointers counter stands at 80, tied for the third-most in a season in program history.
Conner needs eight three-pointers to break Zahna Medley's 2015-16 program record for most 3-pointers in a single season.
Conner has scored in double figures in 18 consecutive games.
Harris' 27 points were a TCU career-high and marked the second time in purple and white she has eclipsed the 20-point threshold.
Harris drained three consecutive 3-pointers in the third quarter to ignite her stretch of 11 unanswered points.
Harris is averaging 14.5 points per game over her last eight outings.
Harris has drained five 3-pointers twice this season.
Harris improved her 3-pointers per 40 minutes average to 5.9. She continues to rank second nationally and trails only Caitlin Clark in the category.
Harris' 27 points were four shy of her career-high and her most in a game in regulation. She scored 31 in a double-overtime game at Northern Illinois on Feb. 25, 2023, during her freshman season at Central Michigan.
Roberson and Emma-Nnopu fouled out within a 41-second span of one another in the fourth quarter. Emma-Nnopu picked up her fifth with three minutes to go, rendering TCU to just six available scholarship players.
Una Jovanovic gave TCU three double-digit scorers, finishing with 10 points.
Jovanovic has reached double figures in scoring in four of her last seven games.
Campbell is three victories away from becoming TCU's winningest first-year head coach.