No. 17 TCU women’s basketball opened their season with a win at home over North Carolina A&T this past Thursday by a score of 82-43. The Horned Frogs dominated on both ends of the floor, shooting over 47
percent from the field as a team and limiting the Aggies to just 26.9 percent shooting from the field. TCU outrebounded North Carolina A&T 47-31 and had over twice the amount of assists as the Aggies as the Frogs jumped out to an early lead and left no doubt in a blowout win.
Superstar transfer Olivia Miles was impressive in her first game in a TCU uniform with 16 points on just eight shots from the field. Miles also collected eight rebounds and dished out six assists and looked very comfortable in Mark Campbell’s offense. Cal transfer Marta Suarez led the Frogs in points with 19 points along with four rebounds, two assists, and one steal on 63.6 percent shooting from the field. Suarez scored in multiple ways, knocking down two threes, finishing in the paint, and getting to the free throw line four times.
Returning guard Donovyn Hunter had an excellent game with 17 points, two rebounds, four assists, and four steals on 50 percent shooting from the field. Hunter will have an expanded role this season as a ball handler with the departure of Hailey Van Lith this offseason and Hunter looked up to the task in this game. Center Clara Silva was impactful on both ends of the floor for TCU with 13 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks.
The Horned Frogs needed to find rim protection this offseason with the departure of Sedona Prince and Silva performed well on defense against the Aggies. Taylor Bigby and Kennedy Basham provided some spark off the bench with Bigby making two threes on her way to ten points and Basham blocking six shots and collecting six rebounds.
The Horned Frogs opened the game with a 6-0 run thanks to some great shot creation leading to three straight layups and active hands to force turnovers on defense. TCU expanded the lead to 15-2 before both teams hit a bit of a lull offensively toward the end of the first quarter. TCU played well defensively and took a 17-10 lead into the start of the second quarter. Donovyn Hunter had an excellent individual sequence early in the second quarter with a made three followed by a steal on the ensuing defensive possession leading to a fast break layup.
The TCU offense caught fire late in the second quarter including a stretch of back-to-back-to-back threes with Miles making the first two and setting up Bigby for the third. TCU scored 22 points in the second quarter to extend the lead to 16 points heading into halftime. TCU continued to control the game in the second half, out scoring the Aggies 20-9 in the third quarter and 23-11 in the fourth.
One area to improve on for the Frogs will be moving the ball against a 3-2 zone. The Aggies employed a heavy dose of a trapping zone defense in the second half and it gave the Frogs some trouble, especially when Miles was not on the floor. TCU could see more teams play zone against them to counter the size of TCU’s frontcourt and the Frogs need to be prepared to execute offensively against it.
The Frogs will be back in action this Sunday in Fort Worth against Sam Houston at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN+.
