Nov. 6, 2012

FORT WORTH, Texas - The TCU women's basketball team will open its 2012-13 season Wednesday night with an exhibition contest against East Central. Start time is set for 7:00 p.m. CT inside Daniel-Meyer Coliseum and admission is free to the public.

Fans not able to attend the exhibition contest against the Tigers can follow it live on FrogVision with Chuck LaMendola and Russell Scott calling the action live. The stream is available by going to the women's basketball schedule and clicking on the watch live icon located on the right side of the page.

The Opponent
East Central University, a member of the NCAA Division II, is led by head coach Kent Franz, who led the Tigers to a 8-19 record and 6-10 mark in the Great American Conference last season. ECU was recently picked to finish seventh in the GAC preseason poll.

Five starters and nine letterwinners return for East Central in 2012-13, including two players who recorded nine points per game or better a year ago in Jourdan Clark and Lindsay McCown. Clark and McCown averaged 9.0 and 9.3 points per game, respectively. Fellow starter Ashley Robison also returns for the Tigers after starting 26 games last season. She averaged 8.0 points per game, while grabbing 6.2 boards a contest.

The Series
TCU and East Central will be meeting for the first time in program history Wednesday night.

Simply Young
The average age of the TCU roster in 2012-13 is 19 years old. To put it into perspective, the Frogs youngest player is freshman Veja Hamilton, who entered the fall as a 16-year old, while senior Whitney Williams will turn 23 in January. TCU has three players on its roster that are 18 years old or younger, while six different student-athletes are only 19 years old.

• In the Big 12, TCU ranks second behind Texas amongst the most inexperienced teams returning in the NCAA. Nationally, the Frogs are tied at No. 24 for the most inexperienced teams returning in the NCAA.

A Brand New Season
Eight letterwinners who accounted for 107 of 150 starts from a season ago return for TCU in 2012-13.

The Frogs' returning starters are seniors Whitney Williams, who made 22 starts a season ago, and Delisa Gross, who has been a three-year starter during her time in Fort Worth. Sophomore Natalie Ventress is by far the most experienced starter from a year ago, starting 28 of the 30 games, while junior Latricia Lovings started 17 games at the post.

A Young Team
Going into 2012-13, the Horned Frogs will look to replace graduated all-conference honoree and four-year starting point guard Antoinette Thompson.

• In total, nine of the Frogs 13 players are either freshmen (4) or sophomores (5).
• Only four of the Frogs 13 players are either seniors (2) or juniors (2).
• In total, five of the Frogs 13 players are new to the program.
• Returning starters with 15 or more starts consist of:

Seniors: Whitney Williams (22); Delisa Gross (18)
Juniors: Latricia Lovings (17)
Sophomores: Natalie Ventress (28)

The Frogs will also welcome the addition of five newcomers in Donielle Breaux, Kamy Cole, Caitlin Diaz, Veja Hamilton and Zahna Medley.

Frogs Will Rely on Newcomers
TCU added five players to its roster in the offseason, including four freshmen and the addition of Donielle Breaux, who won't be eligible to play until late December.

The four freshmen consists of Kamy Cole, Caitlin Diaz, Veja Hamilton and Zahna Medley.

Cole, a four-star rated recruit, will don the Purple and White in 2012-13 after ranking as the No. 46 overall rated guard nationally according to ESPN/HoopGurlz. She also ranked as high as the No. 14 rated player in the state of Texas according to Premier Basketball Report.

Diaz, who was a McDonald's All-America nominee, was ranked as the 34th-best forward according to ESPN/HoopGurlz. She was also rated as the No. 18 ranked player in the state of Texas according to Premier Basketball Report.

Hamilton, who was ranked as high as the No. 18 overall rated wing in the country according to ESPN/HoopGurlz, is a four-star rated combo guard and the No. 16 ranked small forward nationally according to Dan Olson Collegiate Girls Report.

A three-star rated recruit by ESPN/HoopGurlz, Medley, was considered the 155th best player in the country and No. 33 amongst point guards overall by Dan Olson Collegiate Girls Report.

Breaux, a transfer from Kansas, won't be eligible to play until the second semester for the Purple and White. Breaux, who was tabbed the 35th-best guard in the country by ESPN/HoopGurlz following her senior season, will bring plenty of experience to the TCU roster, having played in 11 games for KU against the likes of Creighton, Wake Forest, SMU, Wisconsin and Oral Roberts.

Tough Schedule Once Again
The Horned Frogs will play one of the top schedules in the country with games against 13 opponents who reached a postseason tournament a year ago.

• The Frogs will play the last two NCAA Champions in Baylor and Texas A&M.
• TCU will play nine teams that played in the NCAA Tournament a year ago.

NCAA Tournament Breakdown
First Round: (3) Georgia; Iowa State; Texas
Second Round: (3) Kansas State; Oklahoma; West Virginia
Sweet 16: (2) Kansas; Texas A&M
National Champion: (1) Baylor

• TCU will play both the NCAA Champion and WNIT Champion from a year ago in Baylor and Oklahoma State.

Stay In State
The Frogs will not leave the state of Texas until their Jan. 5 road game at Kansas State.

Playing The Big 12
The past five years, the Frogs have gone 4-5 overall against Big 12 teams. Against ranked Big 12 schools, TCU is 3-4 since the 2007-08 season, which includes wins over No. 18 Kansas, No. 14 Oklahoma and No. 20 Oklahoma State.

• Since 2007-08, TCU is averaging 77.1 points per game against Big 12 schools.
• Under Jeff Mittie, TCU's largest victory over a Big 12 school is a 97-63 victory over No. 20/23 Oklahoma State in 2007-08.

Playing Ranked Teams
TCU will play seven teams ranked in the ESPN/USA Torday Preseason Top 25, including four in the top-15.

Baylor checks in at No. 1, while non-conference opponent, Georgia enters the season ranked No. 11. Texas A&M and Oklahoma sit at No. 12 and No. 14, respectively, heading into the season, while West Virginia ranks No. 22. Oklahoma State (24) and Kansas (25) round out the preseason top-25 ranked opponents.

Ranked Teams Beware
TCU's schedule shapes up to be another tough one this season, which will provide it a chance to extend some impressive streaks.

• TCU has defeated at least one ranked team in nine out of the last 10 seasons. The team has two such wins in three out of the past five years.
• TCU owns 17 victories all-time against ranked opponents, each of which has come in Jeff Mittie's 13-season tenure.
• TCU has notched at least one win over a ranked team away from Fort Worth in five of the last eight seasons.
• Three of the four victories over top-5 teams in program history have come in the last four seasons (vs. No. 10/5 Texas A&M in 2009-10; vs. No. 3/5 Maryland, at No. 3/3 Cal in 2008-09).

Home Sweet Home At DMC
TCU is 74-12 (.860) in its last 86 games overall held at the DMC and 171-37 (.822) since Jeff Mittie's arrival on campus prior to the 1999-2000 campaign.

Headlines To Look At
During the Jeff Mittie era, the Frogs are 228-31 when leading at the half. TCU, who went 18-2 last season when leading at the half, is also 133-3 when leading by 10+ at the half.

Overall, when the Frogs score 80+ points in regulation, TCU is 78-1 under Mittie. The Frogs are also 179-14 when the opponent scores 60 or less.

Out-Rebounding The Opponent Is Key
The Horned Frogs are an impressive 173-36 (.827) during the Jeff Mittie era when out-rebounding an opponent, including 28-7 the last three season's alone.

Mittie Enters 14th Season
Jeff Mittie has taken TCU to previously unreached heights during his first 13 years on campus. The 46-year-old Mittie has guided the program to winning seasons in each of his 13 previous campaigns, while taking TCU to 11 postseason tournaments, including nine NCAA berths.

Since his arrival in Fort Worth, Mittie has compiled a 276-140 (.663) record, while exceeding the win total the program accomplished in the first 22 seasons of existence. Mittie's 276 victories account for 57 percent of the school's wins in 35 seasons of basketball.

Overall, Mittie has been a head coach for 20 seasons, compiling a 427-199 (.682) record. He ranks in the top-40 in winning percentage among all active coaches nationally and in the top-25 among head coaches with at least 15 years experience. Mittie also ranks in the top-50 on the NCAA's all-time list in terms of winning percentage by coaches with a minimum of 10 years experience.

Up Next
TCU will open its season next Wednesday against Charlotte. Start time is set for 7:00 p.m. CT.