Number 11 ranked TCU Women’s Basketball extended its NCAA leading home winning streak to 41 games as the Frogs took down Iowa State in a thriller with a final score of 80-73. TCU trailed Iowa State by nine points through three quarters but outscored the Cyclones 31-15 over the final ten minutes to storm back and clinch the win. This game featured two of the premier talents in college basketball in Olivia Miles and Audi Crooks and Miles’s big fourth quarter performance led her team to a win. The Horned
Frogs moved to 25-4 on the year and 13-3 in Big 12 play with the win as TCU has a half game hold on first place in its quest to defend the Big 12 regular season title.
Olivia Miles led the Frogs in scoring with a 26 point, ten rebound, ten assist triple-double. The box score, while very impressive, does not tell the whole story as Miles struggled offensively in the first half, but took over the game down the stretch of the fourth quarter to lead the TCU comeback. Miles scored 17 points in the final ten minutes, making six of seven attempts from the field, and putting the team on her back to will TCU to a win. The entire game went through Miles in the fourth quarter as she collected multiple clutch rebounds, dished out assists and knocked down five free throws to close out the game. Miles’s ability to control a close game in the fourth quarter against a very good team was impressive to watch and bodes well for TCU as they near the Big 12 tournament and March Madness. Marta Suarez also deserves a ton of credit for the win as she scored 12 of her 19 points in the first half to keep TCU within striking distance. Suarez also collected ten rebounds to complete her eighth double-double as a Horned Frog. Suarez was impactful on the defensive end as well with two blocks and good physicality overall. Taylor Bigby continues to be a very important three-and-D starter for TCU as she knocked down three shots from beyond the arc on her way to nine points and four rebounds. Clara Silva was the third Frog in double figures with 11 points on 50% shooting from the field. Mark Campbell called this Kennedy Basham’s best game as a Frog thanks to her work on the defensive end as she tallied four blocks and held her own in 21 minutes matched up with Iowa State’s star center Audi Crooks. Basham also tallied six points and seven rebounds in a great performance off the bench. While Clara Bielefeld’s stat line doesn’t jump off the page, there was an encouraging sign for TCU fans in that Campbell trusted the true freshman enough to sub her in during the final minute to not turn the ball over and knock down free throws if needed.
While the Frogs did not have their best jump shooting game, making just 23% of their shots from beyond the arc, TCU adjusted well to attack the basket more often and scored 40 points in the paint compared to 30 by Iowa State. This change in shot diet also resulted in more trips to the free throw line as the Frogs attempted 21 free throws as a team. Attacking the basket also paid dividends for the TCU defense as Iowa State’s leading scorer Audi Crooks fouled out of the game down the stretch in the fourth quarter. The ability to score in different ways will be an important tool as TCU faces better and better defenses in the post season. TCU’s shooting woes were also alleviated by an excellent job limiting turnover as the Frogs totaled just four as a team. The TCU defense held an explosive Iowa State offense to just 39% shooting from the field and 36% shooting from three and the Frogs won the rebounding battle 46-41.
The Horned Frogs will look to extend their lead on the rest of the conference Wednesday at 5:30 as they are set to take on the Cincinnati Bearcats on the road. Cincinnati sits in 13th place in the Big 12 with a 6-10 record in conference play and a 11-17 record overall. The Bearcats are coming off of back-to-back wins over BYU on the road and UCF at home. Senior guard Mya Perry is the leading scorer for Cincinnati this season at 17.3 points per game. Perry scored 32 points in the win over BYU, knocking down five shots from beyond the arc. TCU perimeter defenders will need to key in on Perry to slow down the Cincinnati offense.
