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No. 10 TCU Rides First Half Surge Past No. 23 Utah, 81-73 - TCU Athletics
FORT WORTH – No. 10 TCU passed its latest test in the 2024-25 campaign on Friday at Schollmaier Arena.
GoFrogs: No. 10 TCU Rides First Half Surge Past No. 23 Utah, 81-73
FORT WORTH – No. 10 TCU passed its latest test in the 2024-25 campaign on Friday at Schollmaier Arena.
The Horned Frogs downed No. 23 Utah 81-73, earning the program's first 'ranked vs. ranked' Big 12 home victory in 13 seasons of conference membership.
TCU raced out a 45-24 halftime lead and shot a season-best 18-20 at the foul line. Utah closed to within six points of the Frogs, 67-61, with 5:47 to go. TCU countered with a 6-0 run and subsequently converted 10-12 free throw attempts to put the game on ice.
The win gave the Horned Frogs (19-1, 7-0) sole possession of first place in the Big 12 standings. It also signified the second time in 48 years of existence the program has defeated three ranked teams in the same season.
TCU had four players score in double figures for the third time in its last four games, with Hailey Van Lith tallying a team-high 24.
Sedona Prince tallied 23 points on 9-14 shooting. She became just the second player in program history to score 20-plus in five consecutive games with the performance, joining TCU Athletics Hall of Famer Sandora Irvin ('04).
Madison Conner pitched in 13 points while Donovyn Hunter added 10.
TCU had the Utes doubled up for the bulk of the first half. The Frogs leapt to a 10-4 lead entering the first media timeout. An and-one from Prince swelled her first quarter point tally to nine and gave TCU a 19-9 edge entering the second period. The Frogs limited Utah to a 2-10 clip from the field in the first quarter.
Van Lith and Agnes Emma-Nnopu each drilled two 3-pointers in the second quarter. Emma-Nnopu's first stretched the lead to 22-11. The Horned Frogs then connected from deep on three straight possessions midway through the quarter, widening their advantage to 32-16 with 5:40 remaining. A triple from Conner with 50 seconds remaining staked TCU to its largest lead of the night at 45-22.
TCU shot 6-8 collectively behind the arc in the frame and drilled eight of its 11 three-pointers in the game's opening 20 minutes. Notably, the Horned Frogs padded the lead despite playing half of the second quarter without Prince, who picked up her third foul at the 5:15 mark. TCU managed to outscore the Utes 13-8 even with the 6-7 center marooned on the bench.
The Frogs forced 11 turnovers and held a Utes squad averaging 10 three-pointers per game to just one in the first half.
Utah outscored TCU 20-8 over the first 7:30 out of the intermission to halve the Horned Frogs lead. Down 14, the Utes strung together eight unanswered points in just over a minute and get within two possessions.
Gianna Kneepkens scored 21 of her game-high 26 points in the second half.
Utah trimmed TCU's lead down to five at 76-71 with 23 seconds to go. Van Lith. Hunter and Aaliyah Roberson were perfect at the charity stripe in the game's final minute
Conner notched six assists for the second straight game to lead all players as TCU finished with 17.
Up Next
TCU draws its second ranked opponent in as many games when it travels to face No. 24 Oklahoma State at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Cowgirls fell 77-74 to Houston on Tuesday. Including with Friday's game, four of TCU's next five games are opposite teams either ranked or receiving votes in The Associated Press poll.
Team Notes
- The 2024-25 TCU women's basketball team is the first in school history to begin Big 12 play 7-0.
- TCU matched its longest Big 12 winning streak in program history with Friday's win. The 2019-20 Horned Frogs squad notched seven consecutive victories midway through league play. That team won set a program record for most Big 12 wins in a season (13).
- The Horned Frogs are enjoying a 10-game winning streak, the third-longest in program history and two victories shy of matching their record-setting run of 12 straight wins to commence the 2023-24 campaign.
- TCU picked up its first win over a ranked Big 12 opponent in five seasons, having last done so on Jan. 26, 2020, in a 73-60 triumph over No. 25 West Virginia.
- TCU earned its 12th all-time ranked Big 12 win.
- The Horned Frogs will match the longest single-season home winning streak in program history at 15 games should they defeat Baylor on Jan. 26.
- TCU extended its combined home winning streak to 16 games dating back to a 59-49 victory against Houston on Feb. 24.
- TCU has now won 11 of its last 12 conference games.
- The Frogs are 9-1 over their last 10 league games.
- TCU scored at least 80 points vs. a ranked opponent for the fourth time in the Big 12 era.
- TCU has now scored 80-plus in nine of its 14 home wins.
- The Horned Frogs knocked down 11-or-more three-pointers for the 11th time this season.
- TCU swelled its season 3-pointers tally to 203 – one shy of the national lead.
- TCU evened the all-time series between the Horned Frogs and Utes at 10 victories apiece.
- Utah became the 15th opponent TCU has held below its season scoring average this season and 42nd in the Mark Campbell era.
- Prince has scored at least 20 points in nine of her 12 career Big 12 games.
- Prince has tallied eight-plus points in the first quarter in each of TCU's last three wins.
- Prince finished with two blocks, putting her within five rejections of recording 200 for her career.
- Van Lith led TCU in scoring for a team-leading 12th game.
- Van Lith finished with at least 20 points for the ninth game this season and 44th time in her career.
- Conner is shooting 48 percent from distance (55-116) over TCU's last 10 games.
- Conner needs connect just 23 more times behind the arc to break her single-season school record for 3-pointers (100).
- Hunter is averaging 12.3 points and four rebounds per game vs. Utah for her career, having twice faced the Utes in 2023-24 as a freshman at Oregon State.
- Hunter has drained four of her last six 3-pointers across the Horned Frogs' last two victories.
- Roberson is shooting 56 percent (18-32) from the field over TCU's last eight wins.
- Taylor Bigby snagged a career-high six rebounds.