In the TCU women's basketball team's inaugural Big 12 conference game, it was senior center Brittney Griner who put the nail in the Horned Frogs' coffin Wednesday.
Griner hammered down that nail with a one-handed slam seven minutes into the game for No. 2 Baylor, leading the Bears to a 74-35 rout of the Horned Frogs.Griner took a pass on the baseline, crossed over her dribble and with one step threw down a one-handed dunk that would have been impressive in a men's game."When I caught it, I saw them both slide over, and I was like, 'Oh yeah, here it comes,'" Griner said.A crowd of 7,394 -- the largest in Daniel-Meyer Coliseum for either a men's or women's game -- witnessed what Griner said was the second-best of her nine career dunks, falling just behind her two-handed slam on Jan. 2, 2010 against Texas State.Until that exclamation point, TCU handled Baylor well early on and even led 7-5, but two free throws and the dunk sparked a 20-0 run that spanned almost the entire first half. TCU's next points would come with seven minutes remaining in the half off two Natalie Ventress free throws.The Horned Frogs finished the half with 11 points, which tied with TCU's 1995 game against Rice for second-lowest in the first half in school history.TCU coach Jeff Mittie said TCU entered the game with a mindset to live off the 3-pointer, but when none fell, the offense completely stalled. Combine that with an outstanding effort by Baylor guard Odyssey Sims on TCU's point guards, and the Horned Frogs were left without any offensive options."We got off to a fine start," Mittie said. "You felt like things were at least manageable, but that pressure Sims puts on you kind of wears on you. They were very physical, and we struggled to make any open shots and we turned it over plenty. That was going to be a rough night in itself."TCU shot 21 percent from the field, which ranks seventh-lowest in program history, and hit just 5 of 32 attempts from behind the arc. Freshman guard Zahna Medley hit just 2 of 16 shots from 3-point range, the first falling with just over nine minutes to play.In the end, most fans saw what they came to see -- a game-high 24-point performance by Griner and a dunk in a women's basketball game."How many times is a fan going to go to a women's basketball game and see a dunk? And she pretty much dunked it," Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said."It wasn't just over the front of the rim. I don't even know how you describe it. She just took one step and bam, it was down."For his team, Mittie said a short memory is the only option after the Horned Frogs' fourth-lowest points total ever in a game."This was a kicking," Mittie said. "This was a painful lesson. Our effort was tied too much to making shots, and I was disappointed at times that we didn't compete as well as I wanted us to."Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
