TopFrog
Lifelong Frog
Horned Frogs Lock Up Houston as Prince Returns - TCU Athletics
FORT WORTH – A 19-0 run and the return of Sedona Prince was all the Horned Frogs needed on Saturday.
GoFrogs: Horned Frogs Lock Up Houston as Prince Returns
FORT WORTH – A 19-0 run and the return of Sedona Prince was all the Horned Frogs needed on Saturday.
Sparked by the presence of its 6-7 center, TCU cruised past Houston 59-49 inside Schollmaier Arena en route to its third straight Big 12 victory.
The Horned Frogs (18-9, 5-11 Big 12) scored 19 unanswered points between the first and second quarters to go on top 22-7. Prince, who missed TCU's last 11 games while sidelined with a hand injury, poured in 13 second quarter points to stake the Horned Frogs to a 33-17 halftime edge. Houston (13-14, 4-11 Big 12) never got closer than seven points of TCU the rest of the way.
Prince tallied a game-high 15 points along with six rebounds and two blocks across 31 minutes in her return.
Agnes Emma-Nnopu produced her fourth double-double of the season on the strength of 13 points and a game-leading 12 rebounds. Four of Emma-Nnopu's boards came on the offensive glass.
Sydney Harris and Madison Conner gave TCU four scorers in double figures. Harris collected 13 points off the bench while Conner pitched in 11. Harris also finished with a season-high seven rebounds.
TCU delivered arguably its best defensive performance in a Big 12 game in 12 years of conference membership.
The Horned Frogs' 49 points surrendered were the program's second fewest allowed in over 202 Big 12 battles. Houston entered the final frame with just 29 points, which were the fewest TCU has ever given up to a Big 12 foe over a game's first 30 minutes.
TCU trailed 7-3 through the game's first five minutes. The Horned Frogs proceeded to hold Houston without a field goal for 12:45 over the course of their 19-0 run.
Houston started the game 2-23 from the field and shot just 26 percent (16-60) for the game. The 26 percent clip was the second-lowest field goal percentage allowed in a conference game by TCU in four years.
The Horned Frogs also finished with a 49-26 advantage on the glass. The 49 rebounds were TCU's third-most in a Big 12 game and most since snagging 51 in a 49-37 win against Oklahoma State on Jan. 23, 2020.
Back-to-back 3-pointers from Harris gave TCU the lead for good at 11-7 late in the first quarter.
Prince scored 13 of TCU's final 15 points in the first half. She went 7-8 at the foul line.
Houston used an 8-0 run to cut TCU's lead down to 37-27 eight minutes into the third quarter. A midrange jumper, followed by a triple from Emma-Nnopu, on consecutive possessions widened TCU's edge to 15 at the 1:23 mark in the period.
Conner connected twice from behind the arc in the fourth quarter. Harris delivered the dagger from distance with 45 seconds to go, stretching TCU's lead back to 11 points at 57-46.
TCU limited Houston guard Laila Blair to 14 points and 4-18 shooting. Blair, Houston's leading scorer at 16.7 points per game, scored a career-high 33 in Houston's 77-66 win vs. TCU on Jan. 13.
The Cougars' 48 points scored were their second-fewest in a conference game this season.
Una Jovanovic led all players with six assists while finishing with six rebounds.
TCU produced an 89 percent assist rate – it's second-highest in a game this year. The Horned Frogs assisted on 19 of their 19 made field goals.
Up Next
TCU takes the Walsh Family Court one final time in 2023-24 when it faces Texas Tech at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday in Schollmaier Arena. The Horned Frogs will host Senior Night and honor Paige Bradley and Jaden Owens before tipoff.
Team Notes
- The Horned Frogs have won three straight Big 12 games for the first time since 2019-20.
- TCU's five-game year-over-year win improvement in league play is its largest as a Big 12 member.
- TCU notched a 10-game year-over-year overall win improvement for the second time in its 47-season existence.
- TCU earned its 14th home victory, tied for sixth on the program's single-season records list.
- TCU has now kept 21 of its 27 opponents under their season scoring average.
- Houston became the fifth team this season the Horned Frogs have held under 50 points.
- TCU is 9-1 when four players score in double figures.
- The Horned Frogs allowed a program-low 48 points on Jan. 29, 2014, at Oklahoma State. A meaningless Cougars 3-pointer at the buzzer with the Horned Frogs ahead 59-46 is all that prevented TCU surpassing its program record for fewest points allowed in a Big 12 game.
- Emma-Nnopu is tied with Aaliyah Roberson for second on the squad in double-doubles.
- Emma-Nnopu is averaging 13 points and eight rebounds over her last four outings.
- Emma-Nnopu's four offensive rebounds signified the 12th game in which she has snagged three-or-more.
- Prince and Conner have scored in double figures in each of the 16 games they have taken the court together.
- Conner is now ranks second in program history for most 3-pointers in a season with 84. She surpassed Jill Sutton's 81 from the 1997-98 campaign in Saturday's win.
- Harris is shooting 45.5 percent (30-66) from downtown, a mark that presently ranks first on TCU's single-season records list for 3-point percentage.
- Mark Campbell is now one victory away from becoming the winningest first-year head coach in program history. He matched Raegan Pebley's 18 victories in 2014-15 for the most by a coach in his first season in purple and white.
