The No. 24 TCU women’s basketball team defeated the Kansas State Wildcats Wednesday and secured their fifth straight victory and first as members of the Associated Press Top 25 this season, 68-63.
The game was tied at halftime, but a dominant third quarter from the Horned Frogs proved to be the difference. They outscored the Wildcats 24-13, headlined by senior Sydney Coleman’s back to back three-pointers toward the end of the quarter that pushed the team’s lead to eight. Coleman finished with 10 points.
The Wildcats nearly came back from a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to two with just minutes left. However, sophomore Kianna Ray made a free throw and came up with a steal that led to an Amy Okonkwo bucket to seal the victory for the Horned Frogs.
TCU head coach Raegan Pebley pointed to the team’s improved conditioning as one of the main factors in withstanding a late run on the road.
“We can’t play as well in the second half as we did if we’re not conditioned,” she said.
Okonkwo again led the Horned Frogs on the offensive end. She scored 22 points, including a perfect three-for-three night from the behind the arc. Okonkwo has averaged 18.2 points a game during the team’s winning streak.
Defensively, TCU played its best game of the season, holding Kansas State to just 63 points on 40 percent shooting.
Making the win more impressive was overcoming the absence of senior guard Toree Thompson, who had started every game this season entering Wednesday.
“We play a pretty deep bench, and I think losing a starter at this time of the season didn’t hurt us as much as it could have because we have so many players that have been in these game situations,” Pebley said.
Thompson averages 9.9 points per game and 1.3 steals per game.
The win was TCU’s first at Kansas State since 2014 and the second road victory during their win streak.
The team will look to win their sixth straight and second as a ranked team when they take on the Oklahoma Sooners at home on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
