Nov. 28, 2002

Box Score

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The TCU Lady Frogs (2-1) rallied from a 10-point first half deficit to defeat the Holy Cross Crusaders (1-2) by a 68-54 count in the first round of the WBCA/Basketball Travelers Classic on the campus of Purdue University. The Frogs will play the winner of the game between No. 6 Purdue and Savannah State in the 7:00 p.m. (ET) championship tilt.

Neither team took control in the early goings of the first half, as the squads traded leads for the first five minutes. However, the Crusaders got hot behind the scoring of Katie O'Keefe who knocked down three straight buckets and a free throw. The Crusaders kept rolling and beginning at the 9:57 mark Holy Cross went on a 9-0 run to push their lead to 24-13. TCU refused to roll over, staging a rally of its own. Triggered by a pair of free throws by junior transfer Tracy Wynn at 5:06, the Lady Frogs chipped away at the Holy Cross lead. Junior Tiffany Evans drained three from long-distance range to pace the Frogs during their 21-0 run, and TCU took a 10-point lead into the locker room at halftime.

The Lady Frogs were in charge throughout the second half. Holy Cross pulled within four at 40-36 on a three-pointer by Liz O'Connor at 15:07, but could never get any closer than that. The Frogs' largest lead was 17, which occurred three times during the second half, the last coming at 67-50 with 2:32 to go on a layup by junior Ebony Shaw.

"We did some good things out there," said head coach Jeff Mittie. "When you get behind a team like this that plays like the Princeton men, you worry about the tempo. After chasing the defense for the first 15 minutes, we had to change the tempo."

"Early on we took three-point shots that were good, but just didn't go down," continued Mittie. "The last five minutes of the first half we penetrated, got to the foul line three times, rebounded offensively better and changed the tempo. Two of our veterans really stepped up today - Ebony (Shaw) and Tiffany (Evans)."

Shaw led the team with 16 points, while Evans added 15 of her own to go with a team-high seven rebounds and three blocks. Senior Candace Baldwin was credited with four assists.

The Lady Frogs will play Friday in the championship game scheduled for 7:00 p.m. (ET) at Mackey Arena. Their next home contest will be Tues., Dec. 3 when TCU hosts UW-Green Bay in a 5:15 p.m. tip at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. That game is the first half of a doubleheader with the men hosting Texas Tech at 8:00 p.m.