TCU women heat up late for win over Butler
The TCU women’s basketball team used a strong fourth quarter to put away Butler 73-47 Wednesday at Schollmaier Arena.
The Horned Frogs led by six entering the fourth quarter before closing with a 28-8 run.
And as it has for TCU’s last three wins, 3-point shooting and ball movement carried the Horned Frogs. Freshman guard Amber Ramirez and junior AJ Alix combined for nine 3-pointers as TCU made 11 of 23 overall.
The Horned Frogs (5-1) have made 39 of 76 3-point attempts in the team’s last four games, including 6 of 11 in the team’s only loss Saturday at No. 1 Notre Dame. That’s a 51 percent clip.
The bulk of TCU’s 11 makes from 3-point range came on drive-and-dish plays or kick-outs from the post, the kind of shots TCU coach Raegan Pebley wants her team to look for. The ball was staying out on the perimeter too much while Butler built a 12-0 lead in the first, but as TCU battled back to take the lead before the end of the quarter, crisp ball movement was why.
“Early, I think we were [settling],” Pebley said. “I didn’t like where [the 3-point shots] were coming from. Once we moved their zone, shifted the zone, we got the right people taking them and taking them in a rhythm, in the flow of the offense.”
After Butler (2-4) held TCU scoreless for the first 5:30 of the game, Alix woke the offense up with two 3-pointers as the Frogs ended the quarter on a 16-1 run to grab the lead.
Ramirez scored a game-high 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting from 3-point range. Alix made four more and finished with 13 points, while Jada Butts chipped in 10 to go along with six rebounds.
“She’s a shooter,” Alix said of Ramirez’s game. “She went into the game with confidence, and if she missed one, we told her to keep shooting.”
On Wednesday, that was certainly good advice.
Matthew Martinez; 817-390-7760; @MCTinez817
TCU | 16 | 13 | 16 | 28 | — | 73 |
Butler | 13 | 13 | 13 | 8 | — | 47 |
TCU (5-1)—Ramirez 7-13 0-0 19, Alix 4-10 1-2 13, Butts 3-8 2-3 10, Okonkwo 3-4 3-4 9, Moore 4-7 0-2 8, Ray 2-8 2-3 6, Akomolafe 2-3 1-1 5, Christian 0-3 2-2 2, Coleman 0-0 1-2 1, Hellessey 0-1 0-0 0, Rainey 0-1 0-0 0, Willie 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 25-58 12-19 73.
Butler (2-4)—Schickel 4-5 4-6 12, Spolyar 4-19 2-5 11, Shelton 3-13 1-2 9, Weaver 3-12 2-2 8, Buford 3-7 0-0 7, Bailey 0-1 0-0 0, Brey 0-0 0-0 0, Hodges 0-1 0-0 0, Humphrey 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 17-58 9-15 47.
3-Point Goals—TCU 11-23 (Ramirez 5-8, Alix 4-8, Butts 2-3, Christian 0-1, Rainey 0-1, Ray 0-2), Butler 4-17 (Shelton 2-8, Buford 1-2, Spolyar 1-5, Weaver 0-2). Assists—TCU 17 (Butts 6), Butler 7 (Weaver 4). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—TCU 43 (Moore 7), Butler 35 (Schickel 15). Total Fouls—TCU 18, Butler 18. A—3,769.
This story was originally published November 30, 2016 at 4:51 PM with the headline "TCU women heat up late for win over Butler."