TCU women lose lead late, fall to No. 24 Kansas State
TCU led Saturday against No. 24 Kansas State for nearly 38 of the game’s 40 minutes, but the Horned Frogs lost their grip on the game in the final two in a 68-65 loss at Schollmaier Arena.
The Frogs (12-14, 4-11 Big 12) managed just seven field goals and scored just 23 points in the second half, as many points as they scored in the first quarter alone. TCU’s four turnovers on its first four possessions of the second half foreshadowed the Kansas State comeback.
“[Kansas State’s] defense stepped up. They made adjustments,” TCU coach Raegan Pebley said. “Those turnovers to open the third quarter made us hesitant and really affected our aggressiveness.”
Meanwhile, Kansas State (19-8, 9-6) began chipping away at TCU’s 42-34 halftime lead. Kaylee Page leaked out for a transition layup that brought the Wildcats to within 46-43 midway through the third, then hit two 3-pointers late in the frame to make it 50-49. The Frogs clung to a 52-49 lead heading into the fourth.
It hurts to fight that hard and come up short. Gotta give more. You always have more to give.
TCU forward Amy Okonkow
who scored 24 pointsForward Amy Okonkwo, who led all scorers with 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the loss, willed TCU to stay in front midway through the fourth. The Kansas State defense blanketed TCU point guard AJ Alix all afternoon, holding her to just two points and no field goals after the junior had scored over 20 points in each of the Frogs’ last four games.
“It hurts to fight that hard and come up short,” Okonkwo said. “Gotta give more. You always have more to give.”
Kansas State took its first lead of the game at 64-63 with 1:48 to play on Kindred Wesemann’s fourth 3-pointer. Wesemann led the Wildcats with 19 points in the win.
After two free throws put KSU up 68-65 with just under five seconds left to play, Jada Butts’ inbound pass from the sideline was too tall for Adeola Akomolafe on the Frogs’ final possession, and TCU didn’t get a shot attempt.
Matthew Martinez; 817-390-7760; @MCTinez817
KANSAS STATE (19-8, 9-6): Wesemann 7-17 1-2 19, Page 5-12 1-1 15, Lewis 5-90-4 10, Middlebrook 0-6 8-12 8, Willock 3-8 1-1 7, Martin 2-4 0-0 5, Sheble 1-1 0-1 2, Williams 1-2 0-0 2, Goth 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-59 11-21 68.
TCU (12-14, 4-11): Okonkwo 9-14 6-7 24, Ramirez 3-10 4-4 12, Butts 3-11 3-49, Thompson 2-6 4-6 9, Ray 3-6 0-0 7, Alix 0-1 2-4 2, Moore 1-1 0-0 2, Willie 0-0 0-0 0, Akomolafe 0-1 0-0 0, Coleman 0-0 0-0 0, Christian 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-51 19-25 65.
3-point goals—KSU 9-22 (Wesemann 4-10, Page 4-10, Martin 1-2); TCU 4-14 (Ramirez 2-5, Ray 1-2, Thompson 1-1, Christian 0-1, Alix 0-1, Butts 0-3, Okonkwo 0-1). Fouled out—None. Rebounds—KSU 35 (Martin 7); TCU 38 (Okonkwo 10). Assists—KSU 16 (Middlebrook 8), TCU 17 (Alix 5). Total fouls—KSU 19; TCU 21. Technical fouls—None. A—2,042.
This story was originally published February 18, 2017 at 6:45 PM with the headline "TCU women lose lead late, fall to No. 24 Kansas State."