TCU basketball notebook: Who will be the Horned Frogs’ biggest X factor in March?
No. 9 TCU has one of the most productive trios in women’s college basketball with Hailey Van Lith, Sedona Prince and Madison Conner.
All of them are averaging over 15.5 points per game and have shown the ability to lead the team in scoring on any given night. Much of the Horned Frogs’ chances of contending during March Madness will rely on the performance of their big three, but TCU will need more than their star trio to advance to the Final Four.
That’s where Agnes Emma-Nnopu comes into the picture. Emma-Nnopu isn’t just the biggest X factor on TCU’s roster, she could be one of the biggest X factors in the country when you survey the landscape of contenders.
After playing three seasons at Stanford, Emma-Nnopu transferred to Fort Worth last season with Prince and Conner. She averaged a career-high 10.7 points while making 37% of her 3-pointers, but with the arrival of Van Lith, Emma-Nnopu’s scoring output has dropped significantly to 5.4 points.
Her role in the offense has changed significantly this season, but Emma-Nnopu showed what type of impact she can make in TCU’s 80-75 over No. 25 Baylor last Sunday.
Emma-Nnopu knocked all three of her 3-point attempts and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Horned Frogs held off the Bears for a historic victory. It was the second straight double digit rebounding game for Emma-Nnopu and shows how she’s adjusted her game to fit alongside the big three.
Her contributions against Baylor and the season overall haven’t gone unnoticed.
“She comes into these games and people don’t have an answer for her,” Conner said. “You’re trying to box her out, just watch her go crash for the rebound and a team try to box out Agnes. She does that for our team, she gets us extra possessions, she just plays so hard. She doesn’t necessarily have the same scoring some of us have, but she doesn’t care.
“Agnes, she really is the backbone of this team. She plays hard, so that makes us want to play even harder for her.”
LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh needed Mario Chalmers with the Miami Heat. Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson needed Draymond Green with Golden State. Even in Boston, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce needed a Rajon Rondo.
That’s the role Emma-Nnopu is embracing this season forTCU, which plays at Iowa State on Sunday. There will likely come a time in the postseason when one of TCU’s big three is having an off night and Emma-Nnopu could be the player that can step up in that moment.
If she’s knocking down shots and controlling the glass, TCU will be even more formidable in March.
