The pivotal question ahead of this game revolved around how this new team, led by the recently appointed head coach Mark Campbell, would perform. It appears that the Frogs are set to have a promising season.
During the first quarter, the Frogs had a shaky start, only managing to score points through Jaden Owens, Sedona Prince, and Agnes Emma-Nnopu. However, it didn’t take long for the Frogs to find their offensive rhythm.
TCU initiated an 8-0 run, which was interrupted with 3:38 remaining in the first quarter when Oral Roberts’ Ruthie Udoumoh executed a layup, narrowing the score to 4-13. Sedona Prince then sank a 3-point shot from the outside, followed by Madison Conner making the second consecutive three-pointer, bringing the score to 18-4.
Conner displayed dominance on the court by hitting 3-pointers from the perimeter, especially excelling in the left corner of the court. She finished the night leading with 30 points, 11 rebounds and four assists.
After the game, Campbell said Connor’s six for 13 on field goal attempts barely tapped into her potential when it comes to shooting the ball.
“It’s actually an off-night for Madison [Connors],” said Campbell. “She lives in the gym, she practices hard. She had 30 points tonight, but she has the ability to score 100.”
Conner, alongside Emma-Nnopu, proved efficient on defense, successfully containing Oral Roberts’ leading scorer, Taleyah Jones, and limiting her scoring opportunities.
Jones shot 4-15 from the field and finished the first half with 12 points.
Oral Roberts managed to close the gap, bringing the deficit down to 11 points. A well-executed layup by Hannah Cooper brought the Golden Eagles into halftime with a score of 38-27.
Prince became a formidable presence under the rim, but Conner continued to excel by making three-point shots and maneuvering through traffic to score at the rim.
The TCU defense momentarily struggled when ORU’s Jalei Oglesby contributed productive minutes. The Golden Eagles managed to narrow the gap to within 10 points, but TCU swiftly regained control and pulled away.
With just over three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Golden Eagles went on a scoring streak. However, this effort was not enough to recover from a 26-point deficit.
After the game, Campbell said the team is meshing really well. The fact that this is the first year the players have played together is almost unnoticeable.
“What we are doing is hard,” said Campbell. “This is an entirely new coaching staff, fourteen new kids, six from the portal, two freshman and six returners.”
“Trying to get fourteen young ladies to play good ball together is hard to do,” he added. “But after watching tonight’s game after leaving you saw how tight of a unit this team is.”
Now with one win under their belt the Horned Frogs will prepare for their second of three games this week.
The Frogs will face the Texas A&M Kingsville Javelinas Wednesday in the Schollmaier Arena with tip-off at 6:30 p.m.
