TCU women rout winless Alcorn State in final nonconference game
In the moment, which is where TCU coach Raegan Pebley tells the Horned Frogs to stay, Tuesday’s 95-39 win over Alcorn State was a depth-builder. Key reserves Adeola Akomolafe, who started Tuesday in place of forward Jada Butts, and Mikayla Christian led the way for TCU with a season-high 23 minutes for each.
“As players get extended minutes and build that confidence, I think you see performances like you saw from [Akomolafe] today,” Pebley said. “Our team has defninitely grown over the last week and a half.”
Christian, one of the five freshmen on the team, led all scorers with a career-high 19 points on 5 of 7 3-point shooting in the lopsided win, and Akomolofe added 15 points and 13 rebounds.
“We went deep in our bench,” Akomolafe said. “But the expectation is for us to execute and be our best selves, and we did that tonight.”
Butts, one of two seniors on the young TCU roster, was held out by coach’s decision for rest, not due to injury, Pebley said. Butts has had two knee surgeries in her career, and Pebley gave the senior the gift of a headstart to the Holiday break. That’s to make sure she has enough in the tank for a rough entry into Big 12 play on Dec. 29 when No. 13 West Virginia visits Schollmaier Arena.
Pebley said Butts will be back on the floor for the conference opener, and she is hopeful that freshman Amber Ramirez will be as well. Ramirez, who was shooting better than 51 percent from 3-point range through the first eight games of the year, has missed the Horned Frogs’ last three nonconference games with a lower leg injury.
Christian produced the highlight of the game in the third quarter when she went behind the back to avoid a steal after receiving a pass on a fast break from AJ Alix. In stride, she looked up and lobbed it to a streaking Akomolafe who finished near the rim to put TCU up 65-30.
Matthew Martinez; 817-390-7760; @MCTinez817
Alcorn St. | 8 | 12 | 14 | 5 | — | 39 |
TCU | 21 | 25 | 28 | 21 | — | 95 |
Alcorn St. (0-10)—Sanders 7-16 0-2 17, Wells 2-7 2-9 6, Kirkland 2-7 0-0 4, Rushing 1-5 2-4 4, Freeman 1-8 1-2 3, Luton 1-3 0-2 3, Sherman 1-2 0-0 2, Hargrove 0-3 0-0 0, Jubinville 0-4 0-0 0, Spann 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 15-56 5-19 39.
TCU (8-3)—Christian 6-8 2-2 19, Akomolafe 7-8 1-1 15, Okonkwo 5-10 2-4 13, Hellessey 4-5 1-3 9, Moore 2-3 5-8 9, Ray 3-3 1-2 9, Rainey 3-3 0-0 7, Thompson 2-4 2-2 6, Alix 1-4 2-2 4, Coleman 2-3 0-0 4, Willie 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 35-52 16-24 95.
3-Point Goals—Alcorn St. 4-14 (Sanders 3-6, Luton 1-3, Freeman 0-1, Hargrove 0-2, Jubinville 0-1, Sherman 0-1), TCU 9-13 (Christian 5-7, Ray 2-2, Okonkwo 1-2, Rainey 1-1, Hellessey 0-1). Assists—Alcorn St. 6 (Freeman 2), TCU 23 (Ray 8). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Alcorn St. 19 (Freeman 5), TCU 47 (Akomolafe 13). Total Fouls—Alcorn St. 19, TCU 19. A—1,566.
This story was originally published December 20, 2016 at 9:55 PM with the headline "TCU women rout winless Alcorn State in final nonconference game."