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Riding the momentum of the men’s victory the night before, the TCU Women’s Basketball team used an 11-0 run in a 29 point third quarter to upend Iowa State and earn their first Big 12 win of the season.
The Frogs fell behind early in a sluggish first half, trailing by three after one and eight at the half. But they came out of the locker room with gusto, out-scoring the Cyclones 29-16 in the third and going 5/8 for three, after being 0-5 from deep through the first two frames. Senior Jada Butts was the star of the show for TCU, as the guard dropped a career high 25 points on 8/15 shooting and an 8/10 day from the free throw line. AJ Alix and Toree Thompson joined Butts in scoring in double digits, dropping in 13 and 14 points respectively. Alix also led the team with eight assists, her season-high.
The Frogs were out-rebounded by the Cyclones 43-31, but used an aggressive defense to hold them to 42% shooting, and far out-performed them from behind the arc, hitting on eight of seventeen deep balls while ISU struggled to a 9/35 performance. Iowa State had four double digit scorers, including Bridget Carleton’s game high 30 points. But while the Cyclones got next to nothing from their bench (four total points), the Frogs were sparked by the reserves, who added 23 points and 12 rebounds as a unit. Jordan Moore had a fantastic performance, as the young center had 11 rebounds, five blocks, and five points for Raegan Pebley’s team.
The key moment of the game came in the middle of the third quarter. As ISU got out to a 40-29 advantage, the Frogs suddenly found their groove. A Jordan Moore rebound led to an AJ Alix jumper, starting an 11-0 run that included six consecutive made shots for the Frogs, including a trio of treys. It was the spark the young Frogs needed, and once they took their first lead, at 45-44, they would not trail again.
The win puts the Frogs at 1-5 in conference play, and 9-8 overall. They’ll travel to Manhattan to take on the 25th ranked Kansas State Wildcats Wednesday night, looking for consecutive wins for the first time in 2017.