TCU Women’s Basketball Roundup: Feb. 1, 2023

The Frogs are still looking for their first conference win as they have dropped each of their first 9 conference games this season, finding themselves squarely in the basement of a competitive conference. This week, TCU had two home matchups against top-half teams in the conference, with mixed results (but still tallies for the loss column). The Frogs had easily their worst showing of the season against Iowa State on Tuesday, losing by 40 in a game that was never close. To their credit; however, TCU showed tenacity and came back Saturday to play in a close contest against a good West Virginia team, but they came up just short. Let’s dive into each game from the past week.

18 Iowa State 75, TCU 35

There’s not really any other way to say that this game was anything other than a drubbing—the game was Iowa State’s from the tip. It was never close, and at one point the lead swelled to 45 for the Cyclones. TCU was dominated in every statistical sense, but to drive the point home: TCU shot 23% from the field with only 2 three pointers made (ISU shot 43%). They had 19 turnovers and were outrebounded by ISU. The only hiccup for the Cyclones was of their own doing—they shot a measly 54% from the free throw line.

It feels masochistic to go on and on about how bad of a performance this was, but TCU was truly lucky to only be down 10 points after the first quarter. Although the game never seemed within reach, the second half blew the game wide open as TCU struggled to muster points; scoring only 5 in the third quarter to ISU’s 29. The team will have a hard time finding any wins on their schedule with this level of play, and certainly will not win games in the Big 12 if they are unable to score more than 5 or 7 in a quarter.

WVU 62, TCU 55

Playing West Virginia for the second time, the Frogs looked much more competitive and even found a lead multiple times in this game. Back on January 10 in Morgantown, TCU had one of their worst offensive performances of the season so far, managing only 45 points and losing the game by 32. This was a much different story than that game and even Tuesday, as the Frogs played much better on the offensive end of the court.

TCU shot a more respectable 36% from the field and found their way to the line 19 times, giving them more opportunities to put points on the board. Additionally, the Frogs worked hard to force turnovers (West Virginia had 19) and they battled on the glass, matching West Virginia’s 37.

Down 7 at the half, TCU fought hard and won the third quarter, but came out sluggish in the fourth, unable to score until nearly four minutes in. They also gave up 21 points in the quarter as the Mountaineers pulled away. Lucy Ibeh once again led the Frogs with 18, and Toni Taiwo contributed 16 as well. As tough of a week as it was with the losing streak extending, there’s encouragement that the Frogs are capable of picking up a win in conference if they string something together.

Looking ahead:

Tonight, TCU is scheduled to take on an Oklahoma squad that just hung 93 on them two weeks ago (assuming the team made it there with the winter weather in the area), followed by a home game against Oklahoma State, who’s 7th in conference standings and has lost three of their last four matchups.