TCU
New Mexico
Frogs Fall on the Road to No. 23 New Mexico
1/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 25, 2009
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—Sophomore guard Helena Sverrisdottir scored a career-high 25 points Sunday, including 19 in the second half, but TCU was unable to minimize mistakes during a 75-63 loss to No. 23 New Mexico at The Pit.
The loss dropped the Lady Frogs to 12-7 on the season and 4-2 in Mountain West Conference Play.
TCU acutally outshot the Lobos (38.9 to 37.7 percent) Sunday but still came out on the other side of the scoring battle. Advantages in both rebounding (44-34) and turnovers (16-11) by New Mexico helped to doom the Frogs. The two categories resulted in the Lobos taking 15 more shots while posting 23-9 and 12-6 scoring advantages in points off turnovers and second-chance points, respectively. Among New Mexico's rebound total were 16 on the offensive end, while the squad also drained 11 shots from 3-point range for good measure.
Sverrisdottir went 7-of-13 from the field and a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line to account for her 25 points. She added eight rebounds and three steals. The only other Frog who reached double figures was sophomore guard Emily Carter, who scored 15 points to go along with seven boards.
New Mexico had three players in double figures. Guard Georonika Jackson went for a career-best 23 points and 6-of-9 from behind the arc. She gave the Lobos a huge lift in the first half with four treys in five attempts. Prior to Sunday, Jackson's highest-scoring game was a 10-point effort earlier this season against Air Force.
Guard Amy Beggin had 15 points, eight boards and seven assists for UNM, while forward Angela Hartill had 14 points and seven rebounds. Twelve of Hartill's points came in the second half.
TCU trailed by only four points at the half and was able to hang around early in the second. Carter's second 3-pointer brought the Frogs to within one at 42-41 with just over 13 minutes remaining. Sverrisdottir then gave the squad its first lead since early in the first half with a pair of free throws with 11:39 remaining, but UNM came right back with a flurry of points to push out to a sizable lead.
The Lobos sank consecutive treys by Jackson and Beggin to quickly jump back up by five points. After Jackson drilled her 3, a steal by guard Amanda Adamson resulted in Beggin's shot. Jackson would later be fouled on another 3-point attempt and was able to sink each of the resulting free throws to put the Lobos on top, 53-45, with 10:05 left.
While TCU was able to eventually trim its deficit to only four, it would get no closer. An 11-2 run gave New Mexico its largest lead of 13 points, 67-54, with just over five minutes remaining. Hartill scored seven of the Lobos points during the stretch, including a backbreaking trey with 5:28 left on the clock.
The game's first eight minutes were a defensive battle. Neither squad shot more than 30 percent from the field. TCU had four turnovers, but the Lobos were unable to capitalize, going 4-for-19 from the field during the stretch.
Jackson scored eight straight points with the help of back-to-back 3-pointers, while Kast followed with a bucket in the paint to give the Lobos a seven-point lead, 23-16, with 7:35 remaining in the half.
The lead reached double figures with just over five minutes left after Jackson drilled her fourth trey of the half and Beggin added an uncontested layup off a steal and downcourt pass by forward Jessica Kielpinski.
TCU climbed to within four points of UNM entering intermission with the help of a 10-2 run. Sophomore forward Rachell Rentschler and freshman guard Antoinette Thompson each converted traditional 3-point plays, while Sverrisdottir recorded two buckets in the paint. The latter of Sverrisdottir's scores cut the advantage to only two points, but Lobo guard Sara Halasz hit a jumper inside the final minute for a 32-28 score at the half.
The Lady Frogs return home for its next game, a 6:30 p.m. matchup Wednesday against San Diego State, before returning to the road to face Utah on Feb. 4.
