Lady Frogs play ‘best game,’ trounce SMU
By Danny Gillham
Sports Editor

The Mustangs simply had no answer for Sandora Irvin Tuesday.

The sophomore forward set a career high with 27 points and added 11 rebounds and five blocks as the Lady Frogs ran away from Southern Methodist, 77-57.

After his 100th game as coach at TCU, Jeff Mittie said this was the best game the Lady Frogs (3-3) have played this year. He called it a welcome sight after the team’s tough 60-58 loss to Wisconsin-Green Bay just two days prior.

“We needed a game where we could really feel good about our performance,” Mittie said.

“It had been a long two days since Tuesday, and I don’t know that we have not had a complete game where we could feel good about things. We played well in spurts, but this was a much more complete performance.”

Neither team could get much going in the early stages of the game, with a total of eight points scored by both squads in the first five minutes of the contest.

Yet while the Lady Frogs began to pick up their game, the Mustangs could not keep up.

The Mustangs scored 25 points in the first half, 10 of which came from the line.

SMU head coach said Rhonda Rompola said her team was changing its game, particularly because of the 6-foot-4 Irvin’s interior presence.

“I thought our post players backed down when they got a couple of shots blocked,” Rompola said. “For some reason — players when the get shots blocked — it changes their whole game.”

The second half saw the Lady Frogs come out hot. The Lady Frogs quickly turned the 35-24 halftime lead into 45-27 and kept the double-digit lead intact.

The Mustangs made one last run, cutting the score to 58-48 with 6:45 left. However, back-to-back threes by senior guard Tricia Payne sealed SMU’s fate.

Playing 37 of the 40 minutes, Irvin went 10-of-19 from the field and found the consistent looks she lacked in previous games.

“Coach talked about in practice getting me the ball, so I was ready to step up,” Irvin said. “I was just focused on getting it in and trying to get them in foul trouble, and it worked.”

Mittie said it was Irvin’s best game at TCU.

“We felt like we had an advantage inside and we felt we had not utilized it throughout this year,” Mittie said. “It was nice to see us recognize that advantage and utilize it.”

Irvin outscored the Mustangs’ low-post combination of junior Kim Walter and senior Kaci Alexander by 10 points.

Walter, who transferred from TCU during the 2000-01 season, came into the game as the Mustangs leading scorer (16.3). She had seven points on 3-of-9 shooting Thursday.

The Lady Frogs now have the weekend to prepare for its next game, when they take on No. 16 Texas Tuesday at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin.

d.r.gillham@tcu.edu