With the Lady Frogs’ largest margin of victory since their 26-point win over Colorado State on Jan. 15, it was a memorable Senior Night as TCU downed Air Force 88-51 Wednesday night at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
Senior guard Emily Carter led all scorers with 24 points. Senior guard/forward Helena Sverrisdottir added 16 points and three assists while sophomore forward Starr Crawford chipped in 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Air Force was led by sophomore guard Megan Muniz, who had a team-high 15 points.
“We kind of took the wind out of their sails early in this game, and that was what we wanted to do from the start tonight,” head coach Jeff Mittie said. “I definitely think offensively we’ve got our confidence.”
TCU dominated the first half, shooting 60 percent from the field. With 5:51, the Frogs capped a 20-0 run. Air Force made a pair of 3-pointers late in the half to cut into the lead, but Carter hit a bucket at the buzzer to give TCU a 43-20 lead at the half.
“I think it was just an emotional night altogether for the seniors,” Carter said. “We wanted to come out and get them early and I think we did that.”
TCU extended its lead to as many as 39 points, and the TCU bench stepped up with freshman guard Briesha Wynn and freshman center Latricia Lovings contributing 10 and eight points, respectively.
Mittie said it was very important to have the bench score additional points to help out the starting lineup.
With the win, TCU improved to 21-9 overall and 13-3 in conference play while the Falcons fell to 8-20 overall and 3-12 in MWC play. The Frogs will get a bye for the first two rounds of the MWC Championship after securing second place with the victory.
“The week and a half off will be good for the team and chance to get rested,” Carter said. “We will just take it as a week and a half of practice to get better.”
With the bye, the Frogs don’t know who their first opponent will be, but Mittie said he sees that as a good thing.
“The challenge now is to go win two games in Las Vegas,” Mittie said. “We really need to stay focused on the one game. It does zero good to look at the bracket. Right now our focus is totally on us.”
Senior Night
Sverrisdottir, of Iceland; Carter, of Bossier City, La.; Micah Garoutte, of Plano; and Rachel Rentschler, of Keller were honored after the game. Garoutte contributed eight points and four rebounds while Rentschler gathered six rebounds.
“That group has shown up every day and worked hard,” Mittie said. “Every year they have been in the hunt for championships. That’s not easy to do. It’s really a credit to their consistency. They’re level-headed players and level-headed people.”
Up next
The Mountain West Conference Basketball Championship will be March 8-12 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. TCU will receive a bye in the first two rounds after Wednesday’s win. TCU’s first game on March 11 will be televised on The Mtn.