TCU
Air Force
No. 25 TCU Downs Falcons in MWC Opener
1/6/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 6, 2010
Final Stats | Notes | 
Highlights
AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - No. 25 TCU opened its Mountain West Conference schedule with a 72-35 road victory over Air Force Wednesday at the Falcons' Clune Arena. Junior guard Emily Carter led TCU to its sixth consecutive win with 18 points.
TCU improved to 11-3 on the season and won their fifth straight MWC opener--each season the program has been in the league.
The beginning of conference play saw the Frogs put together their best offensive performance so far in 2009-10, as the squad shot a season-high 52.7 percent (29-of-55) from the field.
On the other end of the court, TCU limited the Falcons to only a 21.7 percent (13-of-60) showing. Air Force's 35 points tied for the seventh-fewest ever allowed in a game by the Frogs.
Carter led a TCU lineup that saw all 11 players who traveled reach the scoring column. The 6-1 lefthander made 7-of-11 field-goal attempts, including 4-of-6 shots from 3-point range and is now shooting 55.2 percent overall during the team's current six-game winning streak.
Freshman forward DeLisa Gross added 10 points for the Frogs, her first double-figure scoring outing since she opened the season with two straight such efforts. Junior guard/forward Helena Sverrisdottir totaled five points and team highs of eight rebounds and six assists.
Forward Dymand James led Air Force's offensive attack with eight ponts.
Carter led TCU to a 15-point advantage at the half, 34-19. The Bossier City, La., native scored 12 points in the period by hitting each of her first four attempts from outside the arc. A fifth attempt inside the final 10 seconds of the half rolled around inside the rim and out. Carter helped TCU go 5-of-12 from outside the arc while shooting 51.9 percent (14-of-27) from the field overall in the opening 20 minutes.
TCU controlled the game from the outset. Forward Kelsey Berger drilled a trey on Air Force's initial possession to give the Falcons the first lead of the game, but the Frogs followed with a 19-0 run while holding the Falcons scoreless for an extended stretch lasting 8:47.
TCU went 4-of-6 from the field in the first four minutes on a pair of layups by Crawford and treys from Carter and junior forward TK LaFleur. Carter added her second 3-pointer minutes later, and freshman forward Starr Crawford ended the Frog scoring run with her third layup in 10 minutes to put TCU up 22-3.
After the Frogs extended the lead to 16 points, the Falcons strung together an 11-6 spurt to climb within 10 points, 28-18. Carter recorded her third trey two minutes later before Gross added a 3-point play of her own the traditional way on a free throw after being fouled on a fastbreak layup. Carter's fourth triple gave the Frogs their largest lead of the first half at 34-17 with 57 seconds remaining.
TCU put the game away early in the second period. Similar to the first half, the Falcons recorded the first basket before suffering a long drought, this time stretching nearly six and a half minutes. While the Frogs turned up their defensive effort, the squad rattled off a 16-0 run that pushed the score to 50-21 with 13:30 to play.
TCU pushed the lead to as many as 41 points while outscoring Air Force by a 38-16 margin in the second half.
One of the more notable things from Wednesday's game was a seven-minute appearance by junior forward Micah Garoutte. Garoutte missed the opening 13 games after suffering a broken foot prior to the start of the season.
TCU returns home for its first game at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum since Dec. 20 this Saturday, when the Frogs play host to Utah. Tip-off is scheduled for Noon.
Players Mentioned
