A 19-point halftime deficit isn’t ideal, but it’s what TCU faced at West Virginia
TCU found itself down 19 points at halftime on the road at West Virginia and that simply proved to be too much of a deficit to ovecome in a 79-65 loss at WVU Coliseum.
Despite a perfect 8 of 8 shooting night from TCU senior center Jordan Moore, the Horned Frogs (18-7, 8-6 Big 12) failed to get within reach of West Virginia (18-6, 9-4 Big 12), which lead 44-25 at the half.
“I thought they came out really ready to play,” TCU head coach Raegan Pebley told gofrogs.com. “The first few minutes of the game I think really dictated a tempo for them.”
Redshirt junior Tynice Martin kept West Virginia afloat in a 21-point outing, including six 3-pointers.
Moore’s 17 points was a team best. She also added eight rebounds. Amy Okonkwo had 15 points off the bench and eight boards for the Frogs.
“They are a quality team and we are a quality team, and I think the Big 12 is a four or five team league,” Pebley expressed to gofrogs.com. “But that first quarter we dug a hole and had to climb from it.”
West Virginia had four players score in double digits, and made 12 of 21 from beyond the arc in a 57 percent shooting effort. Freshman guard Madisen Smith scored 17 points and Naomi Davenport added a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
The Frogs could not keep West Virginia off the glass as they were out-rebounded, 45-33. TCU shot 40 percent from the field as a team and forced 22 turnovers.
After dropping two of its last three, TCU returns home to take on Kansas State on Feb. 23 at 5 p.m. West Virginia, winners of two straight, will travel to face Oklahoma State on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tip.
