TCU Women’s Basketball Roundup: Feb. 8, 2023

The quest for that first conference win plods on, as TCU dropped back-to back home games last week against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. This week, offense was not the main culprit for each loss, but TCU failed to stop the high-powered Oklahoma offense including Madi Williams as the Sooners were en route to 101 points. TCU played better against the Cowboys yet still found themselves on the short side of a double-digit game. This week we will recap each game and search for where any opportunity to pick up a dub before March may be lurking.

No. 20 Oklahoma 101, TCU 78

In their first contest earlier in January, TCU yielded 93 points to Oklahoma, a game where Madi Williams went off for 19, 7, and 5 and TCU had trouble buying a bucket, scoring many of their 66 during the expansive garbage time of the game. Well…it got worse. Saturday, TCU gave up their season high in opponent scoring with 101 for Oklahoma. Madi Williams had 26 points, 11 in the first half. Although Oklahoma built an early lead, credit the Frogs for fighting back and trimming the lead down to 7 just before halftime. However, TCU came out of the half flat and by the end of the third quarter they found themselves down 20. It never got closer than 19 in the final frame, and TCU just couldn’t stop anyone or anything from Oklahoma.

Ultimately, TCU couldn’t hold Oklahoma to fewer than 20 in a quarter, while they themselves only surpassed the 20 point margin in the second quarter. Toni Taiwo scored 22 in the game, TCU hit a season high 13 threes in the game, and shot a very respectable 44% from the field. The problem was; however, obvious in Oklahoma’s stats of: 59% FG, 38% 3PT, and 94% FT splits. The key takeaway for this game is that if TCU could find something from deep against ANY other opponent in the conference, they probably win that game. What is tough for the Frogs is that they clicked from deep against one of the highest scoring offenses in the country.

Oklahoma State 77, TCU 65

Unlike the game against the other Oklahoma-based Big 12 school, the home matchup against the Cowboys was tightly contested and found the Frogs leading at various points in the game. Faltering offense in the first and fourth quarter doomed TCU in this one, however.

For one of the very few instances in the season, TCU once again led the three-point shooting matchup against their opponent, shooting 60% (6-10) from deep while Oklahoma State had trouble finding the bottom of the net with an abysmal 4-21 from beyond the arc. While shooting from the floor was evenly matched overall, Oklahoma State simply took care of the ball (11 turnovers and +12 in rebounding) and limited tux’s opportunities to score—even though the shots were falling for the Frogs.

The game was tied at 54 heading into the fourth quarter, but TCU failed to score for nearly all of the first four minutes and when they did finally get one to drop, they were already down 14 with not enough time remaining to claw back. TCU only mustered 11 points in the quarter and the deal was done—the winless streak, now up to 11, lives on.

Looking ahead:

It’s worth noting that TCU has found something working on offense, as the scoring has certainly increased, and the efficiency in scoring is more noticeable, especially from three point land. But, this week, TCU faces back to back road games against Kansas (Wednesday) and Texas (Saturday). If the Frogs can hit 13 threes, or shoot 60% from deep and find a way to hold a team under 20 a quarter for more than one quarter each game, they can walk away with a win. While we don’t foresee a win coming this week, the matchup against middling K-State at home on February 18 could be one the Frogs should circle as the lone winnable game (on paper) remaining this season.