TCU forward sparks comeback victory over McNeese State

Turns out, it was just a calf cramp.

Forward Amy Okonkwo was inserted into TCU’s starting lineup Sunday against McNeese State, and engineered a third- and fourth-quarter comeback win, 74-70, at Schollmaier Arena.

That came after Okonkwo went down in the late moments of Thursday’s 75-67 loss to Texas A&M with what looked like a leg injury. But lucky for the Horned Frogs, the redshirt sophomore and USC transfer was well enough to lead TCU (6-3) with 17 points in her 19 minutes against McNeese (4-4). Okonkwo scored 15 in the second half as TCU battled back from what was a 12-point deficit in the middle of the third quarter.

“You see [Okonkwo’s] efficiency. It’s huge,” TCU coach Raegan Pebley said. “Amy was really important to us and [forward Adeola Akomolafe] was really important to us, too, because they allowed us to do some things defensively that allowed us to get the stops with how [McNeese] was shooting the 3.”

McNeese made five of its first seven 3-point attempts but cooled off as TCU ramped up its defensive pressure midway through the third. The Cowgirls shot 11 of 26 from 3-point range for the game.

The Frogs also had to overcome 23 turnovers and the loss of freshman guard Amber Ramirez, who had worked her way into the starting lineup in the team’s last three games, to an undisclosed lower leg injury that Pebley said the team was able to confirm after the Texas A&M loss, though probably happened before then.

Ramirez was in street clothes and wearing a boot on her left foot, but both she and Pebley said the injury was not long-term.

“It’s short-term. [Holding Ramirez out] is very precautionary,” Pebley said. “We needed to rest her right away.”

In Ramirez’s absence, Kianna Ray, TCU’s other starting freshman guard, had her best game, hitting big shot after big shot on her way to 16 points and five assists. Her baseline 3-pointer with four minutes to play gave TCU its first lead at 65-62, and then she drove baseline for the game-winning bucket with 35 seconds left that put the Horned Frogs up 72-70.

“Kianna went out there and played some great defense, and so did our other guards,” Okonkwo said. “I just saw them all raise their level of intensity.”

AJ Alix finished with 10 points, five rebounds, five steals and eight turnovers for TCU, while center Jordan Moore chipped in with 11 points and six boards.

McNeese St. (4-4)—Davis 5-13 3-8 14, Donnes 5-11 1-2 13, Brasseaux 4-9 0-0 12, Rogers 4-9 1-1 10, Sheppard 4-5 1-2 10, Cupit 2-4 0-0 6, Haywood 1-3 1-1 3, Rivas 0-2 2-2 2, Bolton 0-0 0-0 0, Rachal 0-5 0-0 0, Totals 25-61 9-16 70.

TCU (6-3)—Okonkwo 8-11 0-0 17, Ray 4-7 6-8 16, Moore 3-7 5-10 11, Alix 3-9 1-2 10, Thompson 1-5 5-6 7, Butts 1-5 4-6 6, Christian 1-4 0-2 3, Akomolafe 0-1 2-2 2, Coleman 1-1 0-0 2, Willie 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 22-50 23-36 74.

This story was originally published December 11, 2016 at 5:32 PM with the headline "TCU forward sparks comeback victory over McNeese State."