|
Women’s team holds top spot
in WAC By Kelly Morris Four games into last season’s Western Athletic Conference play, the TCU women’s basketball team was just 1-3. But one year later, the team has compiled a perfect 4-0 start in conference play. With its great dedication and focus, TCU head coach Jeff Mittie said the team has been able to execute a game plan better than any team he’s ever coached before. “The players have good purpose in practice and have taken a tremendous amount of pride in their defense,” he said. “After receiving a scouting report, they ask intelligent questions and are very inquisitive, which makes them a stronger and smarter team on the floor. “When you look at our practices and see the purpose and enthusiasm, you see how much the team is enjoying preparing for the next opponent and how much pride they take in the fact that everyone has a hand in victories.”
With the 68-55 win against Fresno State Sunday, the TCU basketball team matched its best 16-game start in school history. The Frogs are currently 12-4 overall and hold the top spot in the WAC. While the team has never began its WAC play with four consecutive wins, junior guard Tricia Payne said the record can’t cause them to lose sight of bigger goals. “We hope to win the WAC, but we have to take it step by step,” Payne said. “We have to keep playing hard and focus on one game at a time.” TCU’s next game will be against Rice 7 p.m. Friday. If they are victorious, the Frogs will post their quickest 13-4 start and reach 13 wins for only the fifth time in school history. The Owls have a 5-1 home record and lead the series with the Frogs 28-16. The Frogs have a 8-3 record at home and a 4-1 record on the road. Since seven different players have led the team in scoring so far this season, senior guard Jill Sutton said the team’s depth has been a huge advantage this year. “We’re very deep,” Sutton said. “Everyone on this team (is) capable (of scoring), and because of that, it’s hard to figure out who’s going to get the game ball every game.” Leading the Frogs in scoring is junior forward Kati Safaritova, who is averaging 11.4 points a game. Payne averages 10.4 points a game, and Sutton adds 9.1 points a game. Because of the Frogs’ wins to date, they are earning respect from the elite teams. Even after Texas defeated TCU 70-49 Dec. 28 in front of 5,045 fans at the Downtown Convention Center, UT head women’s basketball coach Jody Conradt said they couldn’t let their guard down. “When you play TCU, you can’t relax for a minute and even when we opened up about a 13-point lead, we weren’t comfortable because we know they have the ability to come back and come back in a hurry,” she said. Because the WAC teams are strong this season, Mittie said the Frogs must quickly look to their next opponent. “This is a year where the WAC has good balance,” Mittie said. “I don’t believe there is a power team, and because every team is dangerous, we must approach one game at a time and turn our focus to the next team very quickly. We always set high goals, but we think they are very attainable.” Kelly Morris |
