Tuesday, November 20, 2001

Different start, same finish for women’s hoops
By Kelly Morris
Skiff Staff

The TCU women’s basketball team’s first two games of its season both ended positively.

But head coach Jeff Mittie said the Frogs’ start against Air Force Sunday was anything but positive.

“It wasn’t as pretty as we would of liked, but the result was a good one,” Mittie said.

“Air Force did a nice job early creating a lit bit of chaos on the floor. They became vulnerable as the game wore on and had trouble sustaining the emotion they had at the beginning of the game.”

Simon Lopez/SKIFF STAFF Junior forward Grace Gantt fires a jump shot in TCU’s 117-50 win over the the Sam Houston State Bearkats Friday night.

In Sunday’s game, the Frogs made just one of their first 11 shots and committed seven turnovers in the first eight minutes to find themselves trailing for the first time this season, 11-4. TCU was able to overcome its deficit, however, and win the game 71-48 despite in the first eight minutes of play. The Frogs had two 13-0 runs in the second half to open their largest lead of the game at 27 points.

Mittie said the team’s slow start resulted from the Frogs’ unfamiliarity with the Falcons’ defense.

“We had to face more adversity in the game,” Mittie said. “We hadn’t played that defense before, and we struggled to find a way to score against their trapping zone defense. After five minutes though, we did a solid job finding areas in that defense where we could score.”

The Frogs did not face many problems in their season opener at home against Sam Houston State Friday. They only needed 11 minutes of the game to open up that same 27-point lead. After winning the tip-off, the Frogs quickly went on a 6-0 run.

After shooting 52.5 percent from the field in the first half, TCU, who never trailed in the game, took a 56-13 led to the locker room.

Mittie said the team’s defense helped bring about that 67-point margin of victory Friday.

“The defense triggered the offense, and in transition, we have some players that can finish on the break.”

In Friday’s game, the Frogs grabbed 60 rebounds, which was a tie for the fourth most in school history.

Junior forward Grace Gantt, who led the Frogs in scoring Friday with 25 points, had just four points off the bench Sunday in 13 minutes. Gantt finished the night with four fouls, including three in a 1:20 span.

Six Frogs were able to reach double figures in scoring Friday, but only three could accomplish that task Sunday. Senior forward Kati Safaritova had a team-high 13 points.

With that depth, Mittie said the Frogs have more than five starters.

“We have competition at every spot,” Mittie said. “The competition is so tight that are lineup could change each game. This will not be the same as last year where you sat here and had the same lineup for 31 games.”

For the second straight game, freshman forward Sandora Irvin had a double-double performance with 10 points and 14 rebounds. In her first collegiate game Friday, Irvin had 22 points and 18 rebounds, just two rebounds shy of becoming the first Frog in program history to have 20 points and 20 rebounds in a game.

“I like playing at TCU,” Irvin said. “The fans are great. When you hit the little kids hands when you run out on the court, it’s kind of cool. It makes you feel special.”

Kelly Morris
k.l.morris@student.tcu.edu