Dec 31, 2002

By STEPHEN HAWKINS
AP Sports Writer

FORT WORTH, Texas - TCU coach Jeff Mittie knew his Lady Frogs played one of their best defensive games ever. He just didn't realize it was a record-setting performance.

TCU beat Texas Southern 76-16, a Division I record for fewest points allowed in a women's basketball game.

"It's odd to look at the score and see that," Mittie said Tuesday. "We certainly were not focused on those things."

The previous mark was set in 1983 when Jackson State defeated Prairie View 81-19. The NCAA started keeping women's basketball records in the 1981-82 season.

Coastal Carolina defeated Georgia Southern 61-21 in 1997 to set the Division I men's record, since the introduction of the shot clock in 1986.

TCU jumped to a 15-0 lead Monday night and was ahead 39-5 at halftime after Texas Southern made just two of 25 shots. The Lady Tigers (2-7) shot just 10 percent (6-of-58) in the game.

"It was just a case that we were very good defensively and they had an off night offensively and things didn't go well for them." TCU coach Jeff Mittie

The Lady Frogs (6-5) also set a school record with 16 blocked shots, outrebounded Texas Southern 62-34 and forced 29 turnovers.

"What we talked about at halftime is that it could be one of the best defensive performances in TCU history," Mittie said.

At one point, Texas Southern went more than 20 minutes - half of the game - without a field goal. Patricia Hunter's jumper with 13:25 left made it 55-7, and was the Lady Tigers' first basket since Victoria Jones made a layup with 13:32 remaining in the first half. Texas Southern scored seven points in a 2½-minute span late in the game.

"It was just a case that we were very good defensively and they had an off night offensively and things didn't go well for them," said Mittie, 71-34 in his fourth season at TCU.

Messages left for Texas Southern coach Lacey Reynolds and his assistants were not returned Tuesday.

Grace Gantt led TCU with 16 points and Sandora Irvin had 15 points and 12 rebounds. Jennifer Hickmon had five points for Texas Southern, which was coming off a 67-46 loss to Texas A&M on Sunday.

The record victory came two days after TCU beat a Top 10 team for the first time ever, a 70-53 victory over then-No. 9 Vanderbilt on Saturday night.

Last season, the Lady Frogs had their second straight 20-win season, again made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament and broke into the Top 25 of The Associated Press poll for the first time. They also won their second straight conference title, in their first year in Conference USA after switching from the WAC.