TCU women enter second half of conference with optimism

It would be easy for the TCU women’s basketball team to let frustration settle in.

TCU is riding a three-game losing streak and has only one win its past six games, all in conference play.

With Sunday’s chance at their first win over a ranked team in six tries, the Horned Frogs came out flat and dug a first-half hole they couldn’t climb out of in a 97-84 loss to No. 25 West Virginia.

“I told them I could care less about the outcome at this point,” coach Raegan Pebley told her team at halftime Sunday. “We just need to go out and be more process-focused and play at a way that we know we’re supposed to play, and we need to be tough. We need people to step up and perform. It’s not just enough to do things in practice or to talk about them. You need to perform it and do it with a sense of urgency.”

The Frogs (11-8, 3-5 Big 12) responded with an energetic second half and came close to making it a game. Now Pebley hopes her team can make a second half run in Big 12 play, beginning Wednesday at Iowa State (11-7, 3-4).

“I’m still really optimistic and realistic that great things can happen for this team,” Pebley said. “I think there’s a lot of reasons why we should feel that way.”

TCU is No. 97 in RPI and still within striking distance of either postseason tournament if they can go on a run in the last month of the regular season.

The Frogs could have four more games against ranked teams to help strengthen their RPI.

The second half begins in Ames, where TCU is 1-3 all time but where it notched its first road win in the series last season. Iowa State has the fewest turnovers in the Big 12 and sits second in the conference in defensive rebounds. On offense, the Cyclones boast the Big 12’s second-leading scorer, Seanna Johnson (17.6 points a game).

After Iowa State, TCU makes a swing through Oklahoma against Oklahoma State, then the No. 21 Sooners.

“Now, we’ve got a three-game road trip that I’m looking forward to. I’m looking forward to taking this team on the road and continuing to get tested,” Pebley said.

This story was originally published January 26, 2016 at 5:17 PM with the headline "TCU women enter second half of conference with optimism."