For the first time in four years, the TCU’s women’s basketball is 4-0 to start the season. However, the accomplishment was overshadowed by the play of the Frogs.
Head coach Mark Campbell, along with Sedona Prince and Una Jovanovic, collectively expressed that this game didn’t showcase their best quality of basketball, but they got the job done.
The Incarnate Word Cardinals came out aggressively in the first half and secured the initial lead, taking a 4-0 advantage against the Frogs with 8:43 on the clock.
TCU earned its first points shortly afterward when Madison Conner, the leading scorer, sank a 2-point shot to cut the deficit in half. Prince then tied the game at 4-4 with a well-executed jumper.
The game remained a back-and-forth battle, with the key question being which team could maintain the lead.
Initially, the answer was the Cardinals.
Incarnate Word received significant contributions from Nina De Leon Negron and Aliyah Collins, who combined for 16 points.
Jovanovic highlighted some of the tactics the Cardinals implemented to disrupt them in the first half.
“They had a lot of offensive rebounds on us and, for us, that is unacceptable. Those are things you don’t want to give,” said Jovanovic. “They played really hard and we need to do a better job locking in on defense and not fouling because UIW got to the line a lot. But those offensive boards were what stuck out to me.”
The Frogs stayed within single digits until twenty-seven seconds remained in the first half. Prince passed the ball to Jaden Owens, positioned in the right key.
Owens then distributed the ball to Jovanovic, stationed outside the arc, who successfully knocked down a 3-pointer. This play allowed the Frogs to enter halftime with a 3-point lead of 29-26.
TCU’s dynamic shifted coming out of halftime, and the team added 17 points in the third quarter, with Prince contributing 13 of those points.
Campbell said that the message during halftime was to “slow down”.
“Everyone is going to have a different defensive scheme and we have to be able to figure it out,” said Campbell. “So in the second half, we slowed down. Sedona got to touch the ball and UIW had no answer for her. I wish we had done that for forty minutes but credit to our kids for figuring that out and pounding the ball inside.”
Prince said she took a moment during halftime to reflect and gather herself, preparing to come out and deliver a strong performance in the second half.
“I thought about how this is my last year and I do not want to take any moment for granted,” said Prince. “I do not want to waste any time that I have on the court because I haven’t played in a year and a half. I snapped myself out of it.”
It appeared that the Frogs had found their touch and could not let off the brakes throughout the remainder of the matchup.
Prince said the second half is when the team began to settle in.
“I was lucky my team started getting me the ball and we finally got into our groove. I did not want to end the game thinking I could have done so much more,” she said.
Prince also added the Frogs need to settle in quicker going forward because, once they get in that groove, they are a hard force to go against.
“When we play our game and get it down low, we get wide open threes, making us unstoppable,” said Prince. “It just takes until the second half when we start to get rolling. We need to shorten that and play our game without anyone beating us out.”
Although TCU continued to extend its lead, UIW remained efficient in the three-point column. However, its efforts were all-for-naught.
In the last minute of the game, the Cardinals made a final push with contributions from De Leon Negron and Raimi McCrary, ending the game six points behind.
It wasn’t the prettiest game, but Campbell and Prince mentioned said the team excels at reflection and improvement after a hard-fought victory like today’s.
Up next
The Horned Frogs will host the Army Black Knights on Sunday, November 19th. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.
