The TCU women’s basketball team (14-4, 1-6 Big 12) are slated to be back in action at home against UCF (9-7, 0-6 Big 12) after having to cancel their last two games against Kansas State and Iowa State.
The cancellations came as a result of injuries within the TCU Program for the safety of the student-athletes. Jaden Owens, Sedona Prince and DaiJa Turner are among the key players sidelined with injuries.
To help field a roster, TCU held tryouts among 40 active students who had high school basketball experience. They announced the additions of Piper Davis, Ella Hamlin, Mekhayia Moore and Sarah Sylvester as a result.
UCF is currently the only Big 12 team without a conference win so far this season, so this is still a very winnable game for the Frogs. The Knights run mainly through their star guard Kaitlin Peterson. She leads their team in scoring, averaging 21.1 points per game, the 15th best in all of women’s college basketball. The next highest scorer on UCF is Mya Burns at just 9.5 points per game, so neutralizing Peterson will be the number one key if the Frogs want to pull out the win.
With all their injuries the Horned Frogs plan to roll out this starting lineup:
As the only active TCU player averaging double digits, look for Madison Conner to take an even bigger role putting up big numbers. She is averaging 21.0 points per game on the year and is only second to reigning National Player of the Year Cailtin Clark in three-pointers made (73) across all of Division 1.
Agnes Emma-Nnopu should play a key role for TCU as well, especially on the glass. She ranks ninth nationally in offensive rebounds per game (2.7) among all guards. Additionally, Emma-Nnopu averages 9.5 points per game, so her scoring will be a key factor with all the talent out for the Frogs.
Regardless of how the last couple weeks have looked, a win for TCU would be massive for keeping their NCAA Tournament hopes alive. They currently rank at 38 in the NCAA NET Ratings and have been in the top-40 all season. The Horned Frogs will guarantee themselves a winning overall record entering postseason play for the first time since 2019-20 with a win over the Knights.
With whatever happens, it will be interesting to see how TCU looks after the rollercoaster of what happened last week. Tip off is at 6:30 CT on Tuesday, Jan. 23 from Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth and streaming on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
