TCU women waste big lead but withstand UTSA's hot shooter

By Travis L. Brown

Special to the Star-Telegram.com

With the performance the TCU women's basketball team put together for the majority of the game, it should have been an easy victory for the Horned Frogs, coach Jeff Mittie said.

UT San Antonio guard Simone Young, however, single-handedly kept her team in the game, scoring a game-high 29 points thanks in part to seven 3-pointers.

The Frogs held on for the 73-64 win over UTSA at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum on Wednesday.

"She apologized after the game," Mittie said. "I kidded her and said, 'That's a heck of a performance,' and she said, 'Sorry, Coach.' I laughed and said not to be sorry, that was a great performance. That was one of the better shooting performances we'd seen."

After Young opened the game hitting 3 of 4 from behind the arc, Mittie said he did a double take to his scouting report that listed her as a threat to drive to the paint.

Young had four 3s before halftime and hit three more in the second half, which ate into the 28-point lead TCU (4-2) had gained with 13 minutes to play. TCU held UTSA scoreless for just under seven minutes, resulting in a 15-0 run.

With just minutes left to play, UTSA climbed back within six, but TCU was able to capitalize on late free throws.

UTSA (5-4) gave TCU its first look at a zone defense for the majority of the game, and sophomore center Ashley Colbert was key in the post, hitting 10-foot jumpers and sinking second-chance baskets. Colbert finished with a season-high 11 points and hit a career-high five free throws.

"She seems to have a really good feel when she has an angle down there," Mittie said. "I thought her and Veja [Hamilton] played well together during that stretch."

Hamilton thrived on the mid-range jumper, especially from the high post in the middle of the zone, racking up nine points and seven rebounds.

Natalie Ventress led the Frogs in scoring with 18 points, hitting three consecutive 3-pointers in the second half.

Wednesday presented the young Frogs with their first big lead of the season, and fighting complacency was the newest lesson.

"We just lost focus as a group," Mittie said. "At the end of the day that's what happened. It can be a hard lesson to learn because -- particularly our young ones -- when you're beating people by 30 nobody comes back like that. No one has a game like [Young] had, but we played pretty well for 24 minutes, and I was pleased by that."

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