TCU
Colorado State
Lady Frogs Hold Off CSU, 71-59
2/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 7, 2009
Final Stats | Quotes | Notes
Postgame Press Conference (All-Access)
FORT WORTH--Three Lady Frogs scored in double figures, and TCU held off a second-half Ram rally Saturday during a 71-59 victory over Colorado State at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. The win was the squad's eighth straight in the series with CSU.
TCU, which entered the day in a tie for third in the Mountain West Conference standings, improved to 14-8 overall this season and 6-3 in the MWC. Colorado State fell to 7-15 and 2-7 in the league.
Sophomore guard Helena Sverrisdottir scored a game-high 19 points and pulled down seven rebounds to lead the Lady Frogs Saturday. The rebound total helped TCU post a 41-39 advantage on the boards, marking only the fourth time the team has outrebounded its opponent. The Frogs are now 4-0 in such games this season.
Sverrisdottir went 6-of-10 from the field and 3-for-5 from 3-point range. She scored 12 of her total in the opening eight minutes of the game to help TCU push out to an early double-digit lead. She also extended her consecutive free throws streak to 31 with a perfect 4-for-4 effort.
Also stepping up for the Frogs on the offensive end was sophomore forward Rachel Rentschler, who totaled 16 points for her highest scoring output in conference play for the Lady Frogs. Rentschler sank six field goals overall, including two 3-pointers, and added five boards. Sophomore guard Emily Carter reached double figures for the 10th straight outing with 13 points.
Guard Kim Mestdagh led the Rams with 17 points. Mestdagh had four second-half 3-pointers to help the Rams nearly come all the way back from a 17-point deficit. Forwards Britney Miner and Juanise Cornell scored 11 and 10, respectively.
TCU seemed to have total control of the game after taking a 15-point lead into the locker room and going up by 17 on a TK LaFleur jumper less than a minute into the second half. CSU had other ideas, as it responded with a 14-0 run aided by a pair of 3-pointers by Mestdagh. The Frogs went more than four-and-a-half scoreless minutes until a basket in the paint from Sverrisdottir at the 14:28 mark ended the Ram spurt.
Still leading by only three points with just under 13 minutes remaining, TCU finally was able to pull away. Sverrisdottir and Rentschler keyed a 16-2 run with seven and five points, respectively, including big back-to-back treys that put the Frogs up 17, 62-45, with 7:57 left.
CSU wan unable to narrow the gap to less than 12 points for the remainder of the contest.
TCU put on a shooting exhibition in the first half, making field goals at more than a 55 percent rate in the period.
The Frogs jumped on top right from the start, scoring six points in the first 1:16 to force the Rams to call an early timeout. The squad had a 15-point lead before seven minutes had run off the clock following a 9-0 run that made the score 23-8. Sverrisdottir led the push with 12 of the Frog points while sinking four of her first five attempts from the floor.
TCU wraps up its two-game homestand Tuesday, when it plays host to UNLV at 7 p.m. The game will be televised by The Mountain West Sports Network (The Mtn.).
Players Mentioned
