March 22, 2004

From the Associated Press

GAME: No. 6 TCU (25-6) vs. No. 3 Georgia (23-9).
REGIONAL: West, Second Round.
TIME: Monday, 7 p.m. EST.
SITE: The Liacouras Center; Philadelphia.

TCU can set a school record with one more win. It would give the Lady Frogs their first appearance in the regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament.

TCU will try to reach both milestones when it faces Georgia in the second round.

"I think our program has been consistent, but there's a lot still out there to attain," TCU coach Jeff Mittie said. "We aren't a team that is satisfied with just being here. We've done that. This is a team that wants more."

For senior starters Tracy Wynn, Ebony Shaw and Kim Ortega this will be their last chance.

"We have five seniors on the team and none of us have made it out of that round yet. That's what we've been working for all year," said Wynn.

Junior forward Sandora Irvin, TCU's leading scorer and rebounder, is just as motivated.

"I'm tired of getting here and not getting over that," said Irvin. "It's important to our team, especially our seniors."

TCU beat Temple 70-57 in the first round on Saturday, matching the school record for wins in a season. Irvin had 21 points and 13 rebounds for her 14th straight double-double, and Shaw added 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Temple came close to pulling off the upset on its home court, leading 41-40 midway through the second half, before TCU took the lead for good on consecutive baskets by Tiffany Evans and Irvin.

Georgia, though, is a tenacious opponent, and coach Andy Landers expects his Lady Bulldogs to be more aggressive offensively than they were in their 78-53 win over Liberty in the first round on Saturday.

"We will want to attack," said Landers, who has twice taken Georgia to the national championship game.

"I like our players. I like their aggressiveness. I like the fact they can become like attack dogs. You can kind of sick them on people. They're like those dogs in the cartoon that grab the mailman's leg and don't let go. They get their teeth in you and hang on."

Cori Chambers scored a career-high 19 points and Jessica Pierce added 17 against Liberty.

Mittie knows the Lady Frogs have a formidable obstacle to clear.

"Georgia has an outstanding team and it's going to be a huge challenge," Mittie said. "They have good quickness on the perimeter and they can create shots. The ability to create shots is what separates the teams that advance this time of the year."

TCU hopes to bounce back from poor perimeter shooting on Saturday when it went scoreless from three-point range (0-for-8) for the first time in 71 games.

This will be the first meeting for the teams. The winner will face Villanova or Purdue in Seattle.

PROBABLE STARTERS: TCU - F Irvin (16.5 ppg, 12.2 rpg, 4.0 bpg), F Wynn (7.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg), G Ortega (8.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg), G Shaw (11.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg), G Natasha Lacy (6.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 5.3 apg). Georgia - F Rebecca Rowsey (2.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg), C Christi Thomas (13.0 ppg, 8.2 rpg), G Janese Hardrick (10.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg), G Sherill Baker (11.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.3 apg), G Alexis Kendrick (9.3 ppg, 4.6 apg, 3.8 rpg).

HOW THEY GOT HERE: TCU - At-large berth; beat No. 11 Temple 70-57, first round. Georgia - At-large berth; beat No. 14 Liberty 78-53, first round.

ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD: TCU - 4-3, 4 years. Georgia - 39-20, 21 years.