After missing seven weeks of play, Sedona Prince made her return, helping the Frogs secure a third-straight win, defeating the Cougars by 10 points.

Prince led all scorers with 15 points and six rebounds, followed by Agness Emma-Nnopu and Sydney Harris, who both contributed 13 points.

Prince said it felt good to be back on the court after getting out some jitters at first. 

“It felt great, I really missed playing with my girls so much,” said Prince. “I missed being out there, running around and playing the sport I love. But it also was a little bit of getting the nerves out and getting the rust off, that’s forsure. It was really fun and I missed it.”

Head coach Mark Campbell mentioned that with Prince back in the lineup, it disrupts any game plan an opposing team may have, owing to her ability to score around the basket.

“She changes every shot around the basket and so it alters teams game plans,” said Campbell. “She impacts the game at a high level.”

Houston made the first points of the game, holding off the Frogs for the first three minutes of the quarter after a foul was called against Houston’s Peyton McFarland. Aaliyah Roberson converted on her only attempt to put the first points on the board for the Frogs.

Sydney Harris got going toward the end of the first quarter, hitting a crucial 3-pointer to give the Frogs their first lead of the game, 11-7. It took Agnes Emma Nnopu a little time to get going, but she helped extend the lead to 13-7 going into the second quarter with a layup.

Una Jovanovic, Prince and Nnopu contributed to TCU’s 9-0 run until it was disrupted by a foul called against Jovanovic. Houston’s Laila Blair made both attempts to bring the Cougars up 9-22.

TCU gained more momentum with five fouls called against the Cougars, which sent Prince to the line four times, scoring eight points in free throws. The Frogs entered the locker room up 33-17.

Campbell mentioned that, with Prince’s height, they were able to revert to a pick-and-roll offense instead of the five-out offense they had been running due to smaller personnel.

“Now we are trying to figure out do we stick with five out or do we go back to pick and roll,” said Campbell. “Defensively, what are we doing? We were fronting the post because we had small ball. Now that Sedona is back, you play behind the post…We are trying to figure out what works best for this team to win.”

Tara Manumaleuga came up big for TCU when it seemed they had hit a standstill after their first and only shot of the quarter. She made a crucial layup, ending their scoring drought with 9:14 remaining in the game, bringing the score to 35-17.

The Cougars worked their way back up going on a 5-0 run with four minutes left in the game. Luckily for the Frogs, a foul was called on Houston’s N’yah Boyd sending Sydney Harris to the line for three. With two complete attempts, Harris helped the Frogs go up 51-42 at the 2:23 mark. 

With six seconds left, Houston made their last scoring attempt with a good 3-pointer from Laila Blair, falling to the Frogs 59-49. 

With two more regular season games and a chance at the Big 12 tournament up for discussion, TCU will look to make a run. 

“This group, we survived all those injuries and I told them, now it is time to thrive,” said Campbell. “We got our group back, we are healthy and so let’s make a late season push.”

Up next

The Frogs will remain at home to take on the Texas Tech Lady Raiders, who they fell to 65-71 back in January. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the Schollmaier Arena.