|
|
|
TCU Shocks No. 3 Maryland
LaFleur scores 28 in first game to lead Lady Frogs
Nov. 14, 2008
FORT WORTH—Boosted by a career-high 28-point effort from junior TK LaFleur and a strong all-around defensive effort, the TCU women’s basketball team upended No. 3 Maryland Friday, 80-68, at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum in the season opener for both teams. The victory marked only the second win in school history over a top-3 ranked team. The Lady Frogs also downed a third-ranked Georgia squad, 64-63, on Nov. 27, 2004 in the Wahine Rainbow Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Frogs had previously lost to Maryland to open the 2006-07 season in College Park, Md., in a game that saw the Terrapins enter the game ranked as the preseason No. 1 team. TCU, which survived a one-point decision to NAIA Oklahoma City in an exhibition contest last Saturday, came out firing at the start of both halves Friday to outpace Maryland. The squad opened the game with an 11-0 run to jump on the Terrapins early, then rattled off a 9-0 spurt at the start of the second half to build a 16-point lead. TCU led by as many as 20 points with 11:50 to play before holding on for the win. LaFleur, making her first career appearance for the Frogs after sitting out all of last season as a transfer from Nebraska, gave her team the boost it needed in its season opener. The Houston native connected on 10-of-17 attempts from the floor, including 4-of-6 shots from 3-point range, to total her 28 points. Eighteen of LaFleur’s points came in the second half alone. Sophomore Helena Sverrisdottir also had a big game for TCU with 18 points, four rebounds and a career-high seven assists before fouling out late in the second half. Fellow sophomore Emily Carter added 12 points and eight boards, while junior Eboni Mangum scored 10 points in her first action as a Frog since transferring from Louisiana Tech after the 2006-07 season. Mangum and LaFleur were only two of six new players who opened their Lady Frog careers Friday, as TCU looks to replace a group of five seniors from last season’s roster. The new group got off to a good start, accounting for 45 of the Frogs’ 80 points. In addition to a stellar offensive effort featuring a 10-for-20 effort from behind the arc, TCU’s defense shut down one of the nation’s most potent lineups Friday. Maryland shot only 34.4 percent from the field, including 26.7 percent in the first half, while TCU built its lead. Terp senior guard Kristi Toliver, a returning All-American and Nancy Lieberman Award winner as the nation’s top point guard last season, went only 4-of-16 from the field while scoring 11 points. More importantly, the Lady Frogs held Toliver to only three assists, including none in the first half. Another senior All-American, forward Marissa Coleman, led Maryland’s offensive attack with 15 points while adding seven rebounds. Freshman center Lynetta Kizer scored 12 points and pulled down 15 rebounds in only 27 minutes of action to push the Terps to a 50-37 advantage on the boards for the contest. Despite building a 20-point lead, Maryland hung around in the contest with an 8-0 run to cut the advantage to only 12 points, 54-42, with just over eight minutes remaining. After a Toliver trey further cut the lead to only 10 with 6:27 left, the Frogs responded with six straight points to put the game out of reach entering the game’s final four minutes TCU looks to continue its momentum Sunday, as the squad continues its season-opening five-game homestand against UT San Antonio, which like Maryland reached the NCAA Tournament a season ago. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m., and fans who attended Friday’s game will be offered free admission when showing the ticket stub from the Maryland contest.
|
|
