TCU
South Dakota St.
TCU Falls to South Dakota State in NCAA First Round
3/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 22, 2009
Final Stats | Quotes | Notes
LUBBOCK, Texas--TCU's season came to an end in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Sunday, as the 10th-seeded Lady Frogs dropped a 90-55 decision to No. 7 seed South Dakota State at United Spirit Arena.
The Frogs finished the season with a 20-11 record after returning to NCAA play following a one-year hiatus, marking the eighth time in the last nine years the squad qualified for the national tournament. SDSU improved to 32-2 with its 18th consecutive victory.
South Dakota State jumped on top of TCU early and never looked back, building a 30-point advantage at the half. The squad did most of its damage in the opening period from the outside, sinking 11 first-half 3-pointers against the Lady Frogs' zone defense. The Jackrabbits finished the contest 16-of-31 from outside the arc and set a TCU opponent record for 3-pointers made in a single game.
SDSU put together one of the most solid all-around games of the season by a Frog opponent. In addition to putting on a passing clinic featuring 28 assists on its 34 field goals, the squad committed only 10 turnovers and scored 27 points on TCU's 15 miscues.
Three Frogs scored in double figures, including sophomore guard Helena Sverrisdottir, who recorded team-high totals of 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Each of Sverrisdottir's points came in the second half. Sophomore guard Emily Carter scored 11 points, while junior guard TK LaFleur chipped in 10.
Five Jackrabbits reached double figures while propelling the squad to a 54.0-percent shooting night from the floor (34-of-63). Jill Young and Kristin Rotert had 17 points apiece and sank five and four 3-pointers, respectively. Jennifer Warkenthien recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 boards, Maria Boever had 13 points and Stacie Oistad added 10. Oistad (seven), Warkenthien and Macie Michelson each dished out at least six assists.
South Dakota State set the tone of the game early by jumping out to a 24-point lead, 28-4, less than 10 minutes into the contest. The squad hit eight treys during the stretch, including four by Young. The lead grew to 27 points at the 8:14 mark on a Young jumper. TCU was able to score nine of the game's next 15 points, but an ensuing 8-0 run by SDSU highlighted by a pair of Rotert treys pushed the advantage to a first-half highwater mark of 31 points.
While the Jackrabbits were nearly unstoppable on the offensive end in the first half, TCU had trouble finding any consistency. The Frogs shot only 26.7 percent from the field in the period while entering the locker room trailing by a 52-22 margin.
The Frogs were able to find more offense in the second half, but still had no answer for the Jackrabbits' attack. SDSU followed up its 54.1 percent first-half performance with a 53.8 percent effort after halftime.
The lead grew to as large as 44 points in the second half, but TCU finished the game by scoring nine of the game's final 11 points.
While the loss was a disappointing end to the Frogs' season, the TCU program appears to have a bright future. All but one player (senior Micaela Younger) looks to be back next year, including all five players who started Sunday's contest. Sverrisdottir, LaFleur and Carter give TCU three returning players who earned first- or second-team all-conference honors this season.
Players Mentioned
