No. 5 Texas A&M prevails, but TCU women show promise
The TCU women’s overall performance wasn’t enough to upset No. 5 Texas A&M in a 82-71 loss Sunday at the University Recreation Center, but defense kept the Horned Frogs relatively close to the national power.
TCU (4-3) rotated through a variety of defensive sets, ranging from man-to-man, to a full-court trap and even a 2-3 zone, hoping to catch the Aggies off guard and create turnover opportunities.
The strategy was successful, forcing 23 A&M turnovers, including 15 in the first half.
“We have quite an extensive defensive package,” TCU coach Raegan Pebley said. “We didn’t use it all, but we did just try to not let them stay comfortable.”
TCU, however, was unable to convert many of those turnovers into points, and A&M forced 20 from the Frogs.
The Frogs’ offense couldn’t find its stride, shooting 33.3 percent from the field for the game and only 18 percent in the first half.
TCU fell behind 13-2 and trailed 31-21 at halftime. A&M’s margin grew to 38-21 and stayed in double digits until TCU cut the lead to nine with 1:54 left.
Pebley said more ball movement would have opened up higher-percentage shots. TCU was only 3 of 17 on 3-point attempts.
A&M (9-0) entered the game as the third-best team in Division I in defensive shooting percentage, but senior guard Donielle Breaux lamented TCU’s shot selection.
“They’re aggressive and they’re all athletic, but I think today we just didn’t make shots,” Breaux said. “I feel like they’re sagging on us a lot and we rely on our 3 probably a little too much than we should have. We should have attacked the bigs more.”
Attacking A&M’s post with a reverse spin move at the end of the game helped TCU junior guard Zahna Medley score a team-high 19 points. Breaux (12 points), Chelsea Prince (10) and Natalie Ventress joined Medley in double figures.
Guard Courtney Walker led A&M with 21 points and Courtney Williams finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Texas A&M coach Gary Blair said the way TCU fought to stay in the game made the contest a win-win for the Horned Frogs as Pebley is in the process of building her program this season.
For Pebley, there are no moral victories.
“I’m too competitive,” Pebley said. “I’ll be salty about this loss until our next win. I really think we’ve got a core group and a program that will feels the same way. I’ve always been a person that I hate losing more than I love winning because that feeling of the loss stays with me a lot longer than the feeling of a win.”
This story was originally published December 7, 2014 at 6:31 PM with the headline "No. 5 Texas A&M prevails, but TCU women show promise."