Dec. 18, 2001
Box Score
FORT WORTH, Texas - TCU fended off a tough trapping defense from the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders and earned a 62-56 victory on Tuesday night at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. The Frogs (7-2) have now matched the second-best nine-game start in school history.
But the Islanders didn't make it easy on the Frogs, who had yet to play in a game decided by fewer than 10 points and had an average victory margin of 40 heading into the contest. Over the first six minutes, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi jumped out to a 10-3 advantage. The Lady Frogs were able to force their way into the lead at the 2:53 mark of the first half on a pair of free throws by Ashanti Nix. The Frogs shot just 23.8 percent from the floor in the opening stanza, but still snuck out to a 28-22 lead heading into intermission.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi was able to hang with the Frogs on the boards prior to halftime, as each team recorded 24 rebounds. TCU entered the game having been outrebounded just once in the first eight games of the season, holding an 11-rebound per game advantage over that time. TCU managed to control the glass in the second half, outrebounding the Islanders 19-11.
The Islanders battled back to even the score at 35-35 with just under 15 minutes remaining in the contest, but the Frogs went on a 12-2 run over the next seven minutes to grab a 47-37 lead. The Islanders made a run at the Frogs however, and cut the lead to two points, 53-51, with just 3:26 left in regulation.
TCU answered the challenge, and Kati Safaritova's three-pointer with 44 seconds left that extended the lead to seven was the key blow. Safaritova scored a game-high 13 for TCU, while freshman Ashley Browning collected a career-best 12 points for the Frogs. Tiffany Evans posted eight points and a game-high nine rebounds.
"You have to win games like this," said TCU head coach
Jeff Mittie. "We were fortunate to get this one, and hopefully we'll learn from this experience."
The lone TCU team to start a season 8-2 was the 1997-98 squad. The Frogs have a chance to become the second team in school history to accomplish that feat when they host the BYU Cougars on Sat., Dec. 22 at 1:00 p.m at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. The Lady Frogs then have a one-week holiday break prior to playing in the Fort Worth Classic at the Fort Worth Convention Center at 5:30 p.m. on Sat., Dec. 29.
