Three weeks into March and TCU women’s basketball is in the midst of a postseason run, taking the “survive and advance” ideology to heart.
“This is a ‘hurry and wait’ type of feeling,” head coach Raegan Pebley said. “Once you win, you’re waiting to see who you’re playing and you’re preparing for them once you find that out.”
As the squad looks to keep their momentum alive, Pebley’s squad has one goal: to stay true to themselves.
“You don’t try to reinvent the wheel or change too much, you try to stay true to who you are so your team can be confident on the court,” Pebley said.
The focus seems to have paid off as the team kicked off the tournament with two victories, a 12-point victory over Lamar and a 34-point clobbering of Missouri State.
Hot shooting propelled the team to victory over Lamar while defensive efficiency was a huge factor in silencing Missouri State.
The team shot 61 percent from the field against Lamar, a postseason program record and good for fourth best overall in team history. The Frogs forced Missouri State to commit 18 turnovers, six above their season average.
“Chemistry has been a huge strength of our team all season,” Pebley said. “We’ve been resilient. They fight hard for each other and play selfless basketball. They share the ball really well.”
Pebley knows that each game from this point forward will be a challenge for the team.
“It’s just going to get tougher,” Pebley said. “Everyone is good this time of year. Any team you play is good defensively and do things similar to us, so we just need to have that will to continue to play with our identity and play strong.”
TCU’s third round opponent is still yet to be determined. The team will discover their third round fate Tuesday night following the matchup between New Mexico State and Rice.
Pebley is not worried about the time off as the team could use the extended break.
“That definitely adds an element of surprise when you’re not sure who or where you’re going to play,” Pebley said. “It doesn’t matter where we play, we’ll fight them on the ice. We’re just happy to be playing in March.”
