The TCU women’s basketball team had three players score in double figures as they earned their first ever home victory over the Texas Tech Lady Raiders on Saturday afternoon, 72-57.
Sophomore guard Zahna Medley continued her scoring streak, tallying 23 points on 9-of-20 shooting to lead all scorers, while senior center Latricia Lovings tied Sandora Irvin’s school record of 62 consecutive games with a blocked shot.
“I thought for the most part we had pretty good execution today,” TCU head coach Jeff Mittie said. “Our defense was active, and it was a pretty solid game all the way around.”
TCU’s defense was stingy the entire game, forcing 16 turnovers from Texas Tech. Junior guard Donielle Breaux and junior forward Chelsea Prince each had four steals.
Lovings anchored the zone defense in the paint. She tied Irvin’s record on a block with 7:54 remaining in the first half.
“It means a lot to me,” said Lovings. “[Irvin] was one of TCU’s greats, and it’s very humbling.”
On the offensive side of the ball, the Frogs used strong performances by Medley, junior guard Natalie Ventress and Prince to outpace the Raiders. Ventress had a season-high 20 points with two three-pointers, and Prince added 12 points.
Breaux provided a spark in the first half with back-to-back steals that led to fast break layups that set the tone for the entire game.
Mittie was pleased with his team, but he noted that there was certainly room for improvement.
“It was an active defensive effort, but they went to the free throw line 26 times, and that’s way too many,” Mittie said. “It was a good effort, but we’ve had better.”
The Frogs were in control from the opening tip. Tech scored the first basket of the game, but an old-fashioned three-point play from Medley gave TCU the lead with 17:01 left in the first half, and the lead never changed hands again.
TCU ran out to a 26-point lead with 13:39 in the second half before the margin settled back to around twenty for the remainder of the game.
Every player on the Frogs was able to see playing time, a fact that Mittie was very appreciative of.
“It was nice to have Medley and Lovings resting a little bit at the end of the game,” Mittie said. “They’ve played 39 minutes the last few games, so to get them a little bit of rest was unusual.”
The Frogs improve to 14-9 (4-6 Big 12) on the season, while the Raiders (6-17, 0-12 Big 12) remain winless in conference play in Candi Whitaker’s first year as head coach.
The win marks the first time TCU has beaten Texas Tech in Daniel-Meyer Coliseum in 17 attempts.
The Frogs head to Lawrence, Kansas for a road matchup with the Kansas Jayhawks next Wednesday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT.
