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TCU falls to SDSU in MWC semifinal
March 14, 2008
LAS VEGAS--TCU's run in the Mountain West Conference Championship came to an end Friday during a 69-67 semifinal loss to sixth-seeded San Diego State at the Thomas & Mack Center.
The loss, the Lady Frogs' first in five games, dropped the team's record to 21-11 this season. SDSU moved on to Saturday's championship game, where it will face No. 4 seed New Mexico.
TCU led for nearly the entire game until the contest's closing minutes. The Aztecs chipped away a 10-point Frog second-half lead and were able to jump on top with a free throw by Paris Johnson with 1:45 remaining. Micah Garoutte hit a fadeaway jumper off an in-bounds play with 47.5 seconds left to put the Frogs up by one point, 67-66, but the lead would be short lived.
SDSU's Quenese Davis came up with a huge play that proved to be the difference in the game with only two seconds remaining on the shot clock and 13.2 seconds remaining in the game. Davis threw an inbounds pass from under the basket off the back of Adrianne Ross, collected the loose ball and recorded a layup for what would turn out to be the winning basket.
Ross missed a contested jumper on the Frogs' final possession, and while Butler-Rayford pulled in one last offensive board, the squad was unable to convert before the buzzer.
Five Lady Frogs scored in double figures, including a pair of freshmen leaders in Garoutte and Helena Sverrisdottir with 12 points each. Garoutte had one of her best performances of the season, as she also pulled down five boards and collected a career-high five blocks, all in the first half.
Butler-Rayford and Danielle Nunn each added 11 points, with Butler-Rayford just missing a double-double with nine boards despite sitting for much of the first half in foul trouble. Ross scored 10 points and totaled six rebounds.
Jene Morris led San Diego State with a game-high 24 points, while Paris Johnson (11) and Allison Duffy (10) also reached double figures. Johnson bested Garoutte's block total with six to set the all-time MWC Tournament single-game record. Davis, in addition to recording the winning basket, also dished out a game-high 10 assists.
Leading by four at intermission, 40-36, TCU opened up what would be its largest lead at 10 points by scoring the first six points of the second half. Garoutte, Ross and Lohse each notched buckets to boost the Frog lead.
SDSU was able to cut its deficit to only four points three times in the first 12 minutes of the final period, but each time TCU responded to keep the Aztecs at bay. Butler-Rayford ended two of the SDSU streaks with buckets down low, including one when she was fouled that turned into a 3-point play.
A LaSandra Dixon 3-pointer with 5:17 remaining brought the Aztecs to within three points, while a Coco Davis trey with 2:32 left knotted the score at 64-64.
The teams set a torrid pace to the game from the opening tip. TCU made the first blow following four lead changes in the opening four minutes of action, using a 6-0 run to build a six-point lead at the 12:21 mark. Ross accounted for four of the points on a layup and pair of free throws, while Nunn added a layup of her own. The run came after Butler-Rayford had to sit early after picking up two quick fouls in the game's first four minutes.
SDSU climbed to within one point of the Frogs with a 5-0 run late in the first half, but Garoutte answered with a layup and free throw after being fouled down low by Johnson with 4:11 remaining. Garoutte and Nunn each totaled eight first-half points.
TCU took a four-point lead to the locker room following a SDSU layup by Coco Davis with only 15 seconds remaining.
The Frogs now will wait to learn if they will receive their eight consecutive NCAA Tournament bid. The 64-team field will be announced live on ESPN Monday at 7 p.m.
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