TCU women falter at OU while UTA sweeps Troy at home

The TCU women’s basketball team led after three quarters but faltered down the stretch against Oklahoma, losing 84-71 on Thursday night at the Lloyd Nobel Center.

TCU (9-5, 0-3 Big 12) led 59-56 entering the final stanza but Oklahoma (7-7, 2-1) started the period on a 12-0 run and never looked back.

Amy Okonkwo shot 8-of-12 from the field to lead the Frogs with 21 points, her seventh consecutive game of at least 15 points. Toree Thompson added 17 points while Jordan Moore had 12 points, eight rebounds and a career-high four assists.

Maddie Manning led Oklahoma with 22 points, including four 3-pointers, and Shaina Pellington added 20 points.

TCU looks for their first win in Big 12 play as they head back to Fort Worth to host Texas Tech on Sunday at 2 p.m.

UT Arlington men 86, Troy 76: The Mavericks used 69 points from their starting five to record their first Sun Belt Conference win in three tries, 86-76 over Troy on Thursday at College Park Center.

Senior guard Erick Neal led UTA with 21 points and seven assists to go with six rebounds. Kevin Hervey contributed 19 points and eight rebounds while Kaelon Wilson recorded his first double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

UTA (9-6, 1-2 Sun Belt) bounced back after opening conference play with road losses at Coastal Carolina and Appalachian State. Troy (7-9, 1-2) was playing its first league road game.

The Mavs owned the Trojans in the paint, outscoring Troy 46-20, while shooting 52 percent as a team and holding the Trojans to 40 percent from the floor. UTA also won the battle on the boards (38-35), in points off turnovers (18-8) and assists (20-17).

UTA will return to action on Saturday, hosting South Alabama at 4:15 p.m. at College Park Center.

UT Arlington women 76, Troy 57: Senior center Rebekah VanDijk recorded her 40th career double-double and led the Lady Mavs to a 76-57 win over the defending league champion Troy Trojans on Thursday night at College Park Center.

UTA (8-6, 2-1 Sun Belt) got off to a hot start and built a 20-point lead in the first half then saw its lead reach as high as 29 in the win over the Trojans (7-7, 2-1).

A native of Nazareth, Texas, VanDijk posted a season-high 25 points, and added 14 rebounds and five blocks. VanDijk, the preseason Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, added five blocks to her career total to move into sole possession of second place in UTA history.

Shelby Richards finished with 14 points and Brooke Alexander added nine points on three triples.

The Lady Mavs will be back at home on Saturday, hosting South Alabama at 2 p.m.

This story was originally published January 4, 2018 at 10:40 PM with the headline "TCU women falter at OU while UTA sweeps Troy at home."