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TCU Outlasts Oklahoma State, Advances to Big 12 Championship Quarterfinals - TCU Athletics
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the second straight year, the Horned Frogs are headed to the quarterfinals of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship.
GoFrogs: TCU Outlasts Oklahoma State, Advances to Big 12 Championship Quarterfinals
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the second straight year, the Horned Frogs are headed to the quarterfinals of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship.
TCU outlasted No. 8 seed Oklahoma State 68-66 in a second round thriller on Friday inside the T-Mobile Center.
Trailing 60-54 with 6:20 to go, TCU regained the lead via a 10-2 run over the ensuing four-and-a-half minutes. Agnes Emma-Nnopu accounted for eight of the Horned Frogs points. The Cowgirls rallied to tie the game at 66-66 with 48 seconds left. Sedona Prince sunk two free throws with 29 seconds remaining to push the Horned Frogs back in front for good. With two fouls to give, TCU worked the clock down to three seconds on Oklahoma State's final possession, then forced a contested mid-range jumper that clanged harmlessly off the rim as time expired.
Una Jovanovic collected a TCU career-high 22 points on 8-13 shooting along with five rebounds and assists apiece. She scored 14 in the first half to stake the Horned Frogs (20-10, 6-12 Big 12) to a 33-25 halftime edge.
Emma-Nnopu finished with 17 points and a team-leading eight boards while Prince chipped in 13 points.
The Horned Frogs move on to face regular season champion and No. 1 seed Oklahoma (21-8, 15-3 Big 12) on Saturday, with tipoff set for 1:30 p.m.
The Saturday matinee marks the second straight year TCU and Oklahoma have collided in the quarterfinals. TCU was mere seconds from upsetting the second-seeded Sooners in the 2023 Big 12 Championship before falling 77-76 at the final horn. The Horned Frogs are 1-1 all-time vs. Oklahoma in conference tournament play.
Friday's win also lifted TCU to its third 20-win season in the Big 12 era and first in four years.
TCU led the Cowgirls (14-16, 7-11 Big 12) for 26 minutes in a game that featured eight ties and as many lead Changes. A 10-0 TCU run sparked by five straight points from Jovanovic lifted TCU to its eight-point halftime lead. Jovanovic produced a 6-8 clip from the field in the first half.
The Horned Frogs opened up a 47-37 advantage midway through the third quarter, only for Oklahoma State to counter with 13 unanswered points. Oklahoma State shot 7-12 from behind the arc in the second half and knocked down five 3-pointers in the frame.
Emma-Nnopu gridlocked the game at 60-60 with 4:36 left via consecutive threes to ignite the Horned Frogs' rally.
TCU converted 11-28 looks from distance and committed a season-low five turnovers.
Five Horned Frogs finished with three-plus assists in a game TCU entered just six players.
Aaliyah Roberson pulled down seven rebounds, marking the 14th time she has snared at least a half-dozen this season.
Quincy Noble led the Cowgirls with a game-high 26 points.
Up Next
Saturday's quarterfinal tilt offers TCU a chance to avenge both of its regular season losses to the Oklahoma schools. The 19th-ranked Sooners got the better of the Horned Frogs, 72-55, on Feb. 7 in Norman. TCU trailed by just four points at halftime in the teams' first meeting. TCU will face either No. 4 seed Iowa State or fifth-seeded Baylor in Monday's semifinals with a win.
Team Notes
- TCU set team Big 12 Championship records in both 3-pointers and assists (17) in the win.
- TCU improved to 5-10 in the Big 12 Championship and 22-30 all-time in conference tournament tilts.
- The Horned Frogs have won five of their last six outings, dating back to Feb. 17.
- TCU is 17-2 with Prince and Conner on the court.
- TCU has now held 24 of 30 teams under their season scoring average in 2023-24.
- The Horned Frogs are 15-4 this season when knocking down at least nine 3-pointers.
- TCU advanced to its sixth Big 12 Championship quarterfinal with Friday's win.
- The Horned Frogs halted a four-game losing streak to the Cowgirls and earned their 10th all-time victory vs. Oklahoma State.
- TCU is now 4-1 in rematches vs. teams it lost to during its injury-plagued stretch of games from Jan. 6-Feb. 13.
- TCU has knocked down 285 threes this season. The Horned Frogs will become the seventh team in Big 12 history to reach 300 should they knock down 15 more.
- TCU is 3-0 in neutral site affairs this season.
- Mark Campbell is now 4-1 in conference tournaments as a head coach. His teams are 14-4 in conference tournament play since 2016-17.
- Jovanovic scored 20 points for the first time in purple and white and seventh time in her three-year college career.
- Jovanovic boosted her assist-to-turnover ratio to 2.24. She continues to rank third among all Big 12 players in the category.
- Jovanovic dished out five assists for the eighth time this season and 18th in her career.
- Jovanovic led TCU in scoring for the first time all season.
- Emma-Nnopu and Jovanovic accounted for nine of TCU's 11 threes. Emma-Nnopu finished 5-8 from distance while Jovanovic went 4-6.
- Prince has scored in double figures in all 19 of her outings.
- Emma-Nnopu snagged four offensive rebounds, signifying the 14th time she has collected at least three this season.
- Emma-Nnopu has now finished with seven-plus rebounds in 20 games.
- Roberson led TCU in plus-minus rating (+7).
