SMU forward Akil Simpson came off the bench early in the first half against TCU and the Mustangs went right to her.

She touched the ball three times in her first four possessions on the court and scored on two post moves.

And the Mustangs kept feeding her—she got touches on the low block, high post, baseline and even the wing on her way to 10 first half points to lead all scorers.

Simpson and senior guard Alisha Filmore, SMU’s leading scorer this season, led the Mustangs to a 35-34 lead at half.

Filmore had nine points in the first half.

SMU has also held its opponents to 18 percent 3-point shooting in its first six games.

TCU didn’t seem fazed by that statistic in the first half, though. The Frogs were assertive from behind the 3-point arc and shot 4-for-10 from there in the first half.

Defensively, TCU started in man-to-man, unlike other games, where the team played mostly 2-3 zone. The Frogs switched to zone at the 10-minute mark of the half.

SMU followed suit and switched to a zone defense at the seven-minute mark, which limited TCU’s three point shooting opportunities.

TCU head coach Jeff Mittie said after the team’s game against Charlotte that he wanted his guards to drive and dish more.

ZahnaMedley made a concerted effort to penetrate and pass to Lovings and freshman Ashley Colbert in the first half. If the drive and dish wasn’t there, the Frogs would pass to the corner and find an open post player on the block.

The Frogs led by as much as nine—31-22—but the Mustangs cut took back the lead after two Mallory Singleton free throws at the two minute mark that capped a 10-0 run.

When Lovings came back into the game, Simpson used her face-up ability and foot quickness to take the center off the dribble, which led to two quick fouls.

SMU played the guards tight, forcing three straight turnovers during one stretch and denying passes.