March 9, 2006

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DENVER, Colo. - After needing 15-point come-from-behind victories and last-minute heroics in the final two games of the regular season, the fourth-seeded TCU Lady Frogs (18-10) jumped out early and led wire-to-wire against the fifth-seeded Wyoming Cowgirls (20-8) on Wednesday night at the Pepsi Center. TCU's 63-55 victory propels the Frogs into Friday's Mountain West Conference Tournament semifinals.

The Lady Frogs limited the Cowgirls to just one field goal over the game's first 8:50 and raced out to a 17-3 lead. Six different Frogs scored during that span, which featured 3-pointers by Natasha Lacy and JimAnne Hejny.

TCU held a 32-17 halftime advantage as Wyoming shot just 12 percent (3-for-25) from the floor. The Lady Frogs made 12 of their 25 shots and owned a 21-14 advantage on the boards in the stanza.

The Cowgirls fought back in the second half and cut the deficit to two, 51-49, with 5:43 remaining. However, TCU scored the next six points to cushion the lead and held a two-possession advantage for the final five minutes. For the evening, the Frogs shot 48.9 percent (23-for-47) from the floor compared to just 28.8 percent for Wyoming (17-for-59).

Lacy, a second-team all-MWC pick, had 11 of her team-high 14 points in the final eight-plus minutes of the game. Lorie Butler-Rayford (12), Adrianne Ross (11) and Vanessa Clementino (11) also scored in double figures.

Erin Hicks led the Cowgirls with 16 points, while Megan McGuffey tallied 10. First-team all-conference performer Hanna Zavecz had nine points and 15 rebounds, but was held to 1-for-14 shooting from the floor.

The Lady Frogs are now 14-2 in conference tournament action over the past six seasons. TCU will face top-seeded and nationally-ranked BYU on Friday at 1:30 p.m. (MST). The game will be televised live on CSTV.