For the first time in program history, the TCU women’s basketball team defeated the Texas Longhorns 54-48 on Sunday afternoon in Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
“It was a heck of a game,” TCU head coach Jeff Mittie said. “Heck of a basketball game.”
Senior center Latricia Lovings scored 10 points in the win.
“It means a lot,” Lovings said. “I actually started crying after the game. It was the first time in school history to beat Texas and coming into the game we knew how important it was to win this game.”
Lovings also had seven blocks during the game, adding to her already impressive career total. The Fort Worth native currently has the second-most blocks in school history with 258.
The Frogs (12-6, 3-3 Big 12) led the Longhorns (12-6, 3-3 Big 12) by 12 points at halftime, but struggled to score early in the second half. With just over 10 minutes left in the game, Texas took a 33-32 lead after a 15-2 run.
“We give Texas credit because they have an outstanding defensive team,” Mittie said. “They make things hard on you all day long, so you have to grain through it and I thought our group did.”
The game would be a back-and-forth affair from then on.
“All of the credit needs to go to TCU today,” Texas head coach Karen Aston said. “I thought they played a tremendous game from an hunger standpoint, effort standpoint and they made some plays down the stretch. They were ready to play in the first half and we dug a hole that was difficult to climb out of.”
With TCU down by one and only a minute left to play, sophomore guard Zahna Medley hit a big three-pointer to give the Frogs a two-point lead.
Medley had a game-high 12 points, all of which came in the final 9:05 of the game, as well as six assists.
TCU would hold on in the final minute, make several key free throws and win the game 54-48.
“Both teams fought hard and our team was really resilient,” Mittie said. “This group continues to grow and I thought they grew up coming into this game and the last two games on the road.”
Freshman forward Jada Butts made her first career start, scoring nine points and grabbing seven rebounds.
“I just want to do what I could and coach put me in for a reason,” Butts said. “I was trying to rebound and do what he said to try to help us get a win.”
TCU held the Longhorns’ shooting percentage to only 30.4 percent for the game and forced 26 turnovers.
“We made the mistakes and I feel like we beat ourselves,” Texas forward Nneka Enemkpali said. “In the first half we did not win the little games within the big game that we needed to win and in the second half, TCU continued to play with the same hunger and passion that they had in in the first half.”
The Frogs are now 10-1 at home this season. They’ll head to Norman, Okla., next Saturday for a road matchup with the Oklahoma Sooners (11-7, 2-3 Big 12).
Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
