Feb. 1, 2002

Box Score

TAMPA, Fla. - The TCU Lady Frogs (16-4, 6-1 C-USA) ran past the South Florida Bulls (12-9, 2-6 C-USA) by a 69-54 score on Friday night at the Sun Dome in Tampa, Fla. The win pulled the Frogs into a three-way tie with Marquette and DePaul for first place in Conference USA.

The first half was evenly played, as the Frogs managed just a three-point halftime lead at 31-28. TCU connected on just 12-of-35 field goal attempts (34.3 percent) in the stanza, but limited South Florida to just 9-of-28 shooting (32.1 percent). It was the 14th time that the Frogs have entered the half with the lead, and the 14th victory in such games.

"Defensively we really played well all game long," head coach Jeff Mittie said. "We definitely gutted this one out. We feel good getting this win over a quality team like South Florida."

However, TCU used a 19-8 run to extend a 41-36 lead into a 16-point advantage with 5:14 remaining. The push helped TCU move to 4-3 away from Fort Worth. The Frogs have now won 14 of their last 16 contests and are 13-0 on the season when holding opponents under 60 points. TCU won the battle on the boards 47-35.

Tiffany Evans registered a career-high and team-high 14 points and also tied for the team lead with nine rebounds. Kati Safaritova and Sandora Irvin also notched 12 points. Grace Gantt scored 10 points, all in the first half, in her first start since Dec. 22.

The Frogs complete their four-game road swing through Conference USA with a contest at UAB on Sun., Feb. 3. Tipoff is set for 2:00 p.m.