TCU
UNLV
Lady Frogs Fall to UNLV in MWC Tourney
3/12/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 12, 2009
LAS VEGAS, Nev.—TCU suffered an 84-75 loss to seventh-seeded UNLV Wednesday in the second round of the 2009 Conoco Mountain West Conference Championships at the Rebels' Thomas & Mack Center.
The loss dropped the No. 3 seed Lady Frogs to 20-10 overall on the season. The squad will now wait until Monday evening to learn whether it will receive an at-large bid to next week's NCAA Tournament.
The Frogs ran into a buzzsaw Wednesday in the form of a hot-shooting Rebel squad. UNLV, which shot 52.7 percent from the field and made 10-of-23 shots from 3-point range, raced out to a 20-point halftime lead, and TCU was never able to catch up. The deficit reached 22 points early in the second half, and the Frogs were unable to cut it to single digits until the game's closing minute.
Sophomore guard Helena Sverrisodottir recorded her ninth double-double of the season with 16 points and 13 boards. She added eight assists, finishing only two helpers shy of only the second triple-double in TCU history. Junior guard TK LaFleur led the Frogs in scoring with 19 points and had five 3-pointers. Junior guard Shayla Moore chipped in a career-high 13 points, all of which came in the second half.
UNLV was led by a pair of post players who recorded double doubles, senior center Shamela Hampton (21 points, 11 boards) and freshman Jaime Smith (18 points, 11 boards). Shannon Oberg added 13 points and went 3-of-4 from 3-point range, while Allison Holiday also had three treys (3-of-5). Guard India Chaney chipped in 13 points.
UNLV used a 15-0 run to build an 11-point advantage, 20-9, midway through the first half. TCU was held scoreless for seven-plus minutes during the stretch. Smith propelled the Rebels to the big early lead by starting the spurt with a layup and ending it with her first 3-pointer. Holiday also hit a trey in the run. Sophomore guard Emily Carter broke the Frogs' scoreless streak with a layup at the 8:32 mark.
The Rebels built a 20-point lead at intermission, finishing the half on a 15-4 run after TCU had climbed to within eight points with about four and one-half minutes remaining. Smith and Oberg each drained treys in the stretch, and a putback by Hampton with only seven seconds left on the clock pushed the score to 43-23 at the half.
TCU had no answer for UNLV's offensive attack in the first half. The Rebels were extremely efficient, shooting 50.0 percent from the field overall and 6-of-14 from beyond the arc while committing only two turnovers. The Frogs were held to only 32.1 percent from the floor.
The second half started out as much of the same. Hampton recorded a layup on UNLV's opening possession to push the lead to 22 points, TCU's largest deficit of the season. The two teams then traded baskets until the Frogs tried to field a comeback.
Three consecutive TCU 3-pointers, the first by Moore followed by two from LaFleur, cut the lead to only 12 points with 13:21 remaining, but the Rebels responded with a crucial 7-0 run that dashed the Frogs' hopes. Each of the seven points came from Hampton, who was fouled on one of the buckets for a three-point play.
TCU was able to cut the advantage to single digits in the game's closing minute, but did not have the time needed to continue its comeback bid.
Players Mentioned
