Jan. 29, 2004
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LADY FROGS' GAME #19:
#21/20 TCU (15-3, 4-1) at UAB (7-12, 1-5)
Jan. 31, 2004 * Bartow Arena * 2 p.m. CST
PROBABLE STARTERS
TCU
#23 Tiffany Evans, 6-2, Sr., F, 8.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg
#45 Tracy Wynn, 6-2, Sr., F, 7.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg
#50 Sandora Irvin, 6-3, Jr., F, 14.4 ppg, 10.8 rpg
#30 Ebony Shaw, 5-10, Sr., G, 11.0 ppg, 4.1 rpg
#11 Natasha Lacy, 5-10, Fr., G, 5.7 ppg, 4.3 apg
UAB
#2 Gennifer Bridges, 6-1, Jr., F, 10.6 ppg, 6.7 rpg
#22 Natasha Thomas, 6-2, Sr., F, 14.8 ppg, 7.7 rpg
#1 Crystal McFadden, 5-10, Fr., G, 13.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg
#5 Vanessa White, 5-9, Sr., G, 4.8 ppg, 1.9 rpg
#21 Chantell Thomas, 5-10, Jr., G, 5.4 ppg, 3.2 apg
ABOUT THE CONTEST
The No. 21/20 TCU Lady Frogs will head east this weekend for a Saturday afternoon clash with UAB at 2 p.m. CST. The Purple and White (15-3, 4-1 C-USA) is coming off a couple of wins at home over Louisville (67-42) and Cincinnati (73-57) after dropping its only Conference USA game of the year to Houston the week before. The Blazers (7-12, 1-5 C-USA) lost both contests at Memphis (64-93) and Saint Louis (74-86) last weekend. UAB boasts one victory on the season against a C-USA team with a 65-63 overtime triumph versus Marquette Jan. 18. The Blazers have fallen in six of their last seven overall after winning four straight. UAB and TCU have only met two times and the Lady Frogs won both contests. The first was a four-point victory Feb. 3, 2002, in Birmingham and last season the Purple and White was victorious by a 74-49 count. UAB is led in scoring by senior forward Natasha Thomas and her 14.8 points per game. She also leads the team in rebounding with 7.7 per contest. Rookie guard Crystal McFadden is second on the squad in scoring with 13.1 per outing and junior forward Gennifer Bridges is the Blazers' other double digit scorer with 10.6 per game. Bridges is second in rebounding, hauling in 6.7 each game.
TCU'S LAST TIME OUT
Although they trailed by six at halftime and managed only 27 first half points, the No. 21 TCU Lady Frogs outscored the Cincinnati Bearcats by 22 in the second period to win 73-57 Sunday afternoon at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. The win upped TCU's mark to 15-3 overall and 4-1 in Conference USA play, while UC dropped to 10-10 and 1-5 in the league. The victory was also TCU coach Jeff Mittie's 100th at the helm of the Lady Frogs. Irvin's eighth board of the first half at the 8:29 mark was the 779th of her career, breaking the school record of 778 held by Janice Dziuk. Late in the second half, Shaw hit a three with 2:12 to play to put TCU up by 14, 68-54. It was her 17th point of the ballgame and the 1,000th point of her career. Irvin and Shaw both finished the match-up with 19 points. Irvin also collected 15 rebounds and blocked three shots. Shaw made 7-of-11 shots from the floor and was 3-for-5 from behind the arc. Lacy added 10 points and tied a career-high with eight assists. Wynn added eight points and seven rebounds to help TCU's cause.
LAST TIME THEY MET
TCU and UAB last squared off Feb. 28, 2003, in Fort Worth. The Lady Frogs won big, 74-49, and it was the first of a seven-game win streak for TCU that would see them win the Conference USA Tournament and reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the third year in a row. The victory also helped the Purple and White finish above the .500 mark in conference with an 8-6 record. TCU defeated USF two days later for its last regular season contest of the year. The Blazers' Natasha Thomas was the high scorer in the game with 21 points on 8-of-19 shooting. Thomas also collected 14 rebounds and blocked three shots. Michelle Smith was UAB's other scorer in double figures with 14, hitting 5-of-9 from the floor, however she missed nine of her 13 attempts from the charity stripe. Sandora Irvin came off the bench to net 14 points in the victory and corralled 13 rebounds. Ebony Shaw tallied 12 points and Ashley Browning gave a 10-point effort. Tiffany Evans had nine points and three rejections for TCU as well. The win was also coach Jeff Mittie's 79th at TCU, making him the school's all-time winningest coach. He passed Fran Garmon, who coached from 1984-93.
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