TCU women’s basketball (6-13, 0-8 Big 12) has had a tough time in Big 12 Conference play. On Wednesday, the Horned Frogs were soundly defeated 75-35 by the No. 18 Iowa State Cyclones (14-4, 6-2 Big 12). 

The Cyclones came out the gates rolling, starting the contest with a 3-pointer from guard Ashley Joens that sparked a 10-point run. TCU guard Tomi Taiwo broke into the scoring column with a floater to end the streak. 

Joens got off to a hot start, scoring 10 of the first 15 for the ‘Clones, and she continued on to consistently score, finishing with a game-high 19 points in 30 minutes of play. 

Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly said Joens is one of the best players for the Cyclones, but also a top player “in the country.”

“The kid is just a baller,” he said. “[Joens] loves to play and loves to compete.”

The Frogs managed to hold the Cyclones to an impressive 33 points at the half, but despite solid defense, poor shooting allowed the Iowa State lead to grow. TCU shot 26% from the field and 17% from 3.

After scoring 7 points in the second quarter, the third bore witness to an absolute meltdown by the Frogs, who allowed Iowa State to nearly double its point total with 29. TCU managed only 5 points, making it a clean 40-point deficit, one from which the Frogs would never recover.

Although the Frogs struggled on the court, the student section and the band stayed loud throughout the entire game, heckling the Iowa State players and providing much-needed support. 

TCU head coach Raegan Pebley was poised after the loss and immediately addressed the team’s struggle on the offensive end.

“Our offense just has to be better,” said Pebley. “We got a lot of quality shots, they just clearly were not going in.”

Coach Pebley also spoke on her message to the players at the half and how she and the other staff members try to keep things as positive as possible.

“We just gotta keep trying to encourage them,” said Pebley. “We really try to stay positive with them and I told them at halftime, ‘Go play with joy. Don’t worry about the misses, just keep shooting the ball, keep shooting open looks, keep shooting shots that you know you can hit.’”

On the night, forward Aaliyah Roberson scored a team-high 9 points, forwards Bella Cravens and Bre’Yon White hauled in nine rebounds apiece and guard Emily Fisher had four assists.

The Cyclones were led by Joens in both points and rebounds, as she totaled 19 and 14 respectively, with guard Lexi Donarski leading the team in assists with seven.

Up next

The Frogs’ next game is against West Virginia (13-5, 4-3 Big 12) at home on Saturday at 1 p.m.