Joel Anderson is a news-editorial journalism major from Missouri City, Texas. He can be reached at (jdanderson@delta.is.tcu.edu).
By Danny Horne staff reporter For the second consecutive game, the Lady Horned Frogs basketball team faces off against a team it has not beaten since 1991. Last Saturday it was Southern Methodist and a 17-game losing streak. Tonight at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum against Rice, TCU looks to end another 17-game losing streak dating back to Jan. 19, 1991. "We have not paid much attention to the streak against Rice," junior guard Jill Sutton said. "We just have to play a consistent 40 minutes of basketball. We had (Rice) down at halftime last year, but they came back to beat us because we let up. It was the same against SMU last Saturday." The Lady Frogs (11-10, 2-4 Western Athletic Conference) are coming off an 82-63 loss at SMU, in which they shot 29 percent for the game. Over the last seven games, the Lady Frogs' offense has averaged 65 points a game. TCU is 2-5 in that span and is 2-8 for the season in games when they score under 70 points. "We have had some droughts offensively this season," head coach Jeff Mittie said. "We are looking to get to the free-throw line more and try some different sets to create more looks at the basket. The shots should start falling for us." Mittie said he is glad to get back home to play in front of the home crowd. "We've played our last three games on the road, and we have not played in front of our own fans since school started up," Mittie said. "Our team is looking forward to being at home again." The Lady Owls (11-6, 3-2 WAC) enter tonight's contest on a three-game winning streak. Senior guard Jenny Cafferty was just named WAC Player of the Week on Monday after hitting 13 three-pointers in two games last week. "Rice is one of the more athletic teams in the conference, and Cafferty is a big part of that," Mittie said. "But we cannot just focus on Cafferty because they are a strong team." Senior guard Marla Brumfield and senior forward Kirra Jordan both average 13 points a game. Senior guard Kim Smallwood has averaged 10 points in five WAC games. "We feel like we can beat them on the inside," freshman center Kim Walter said. "(Junior center) Karen (Clayton) and I should be able to overpower them because we feel we are stronger and more physical." The Lady Owls defense has given up an average of 58 points all season. Mittie said the Lady Frogs will rely heavily on the inside game of Walter and Clayton because of the perimeter pressure the Lady Owls defense applies. "(Clayton) and I know we can play effectively on the inside if the outside shooting is not hitting that night," Walter said. The Lady Frogs will continue to use Jill Sutton in extended minutes while junior guard Amy Sutton remains sidelined with a fractured right fibula. "Extended playing time is not an issue," Jill Sutton said. "At this point in conference, every team experiences some fatigue. It all depends on how well-conditioned you are as a team, and we feel we are prepared." Mittie said the inside play of Walter and Clayton has opened up the perimeter shot for Jill Sutton, junior guard Diamond Jackson and sophomore guard Tricia Payne. He said they have to be able to hit the open shots. Jackson was three of 15 from the field and zero for eight from the three-point range. "(Our shooters) are a very confident group," Jill Sutton said. "We know that if someone struggles, they will bounce back strong." The Lady Frogs find themselves a half-game ahead of Fresno State (8-11, 1-4 WAC) in the standings for the final spot in the conference tournament. TCU plays the next two games at home, but the Lady Frogs do not feel they are in a must-win situation, Jill Sutton said. "We need these games, but we feel we control our own destiny," Jill Sutton said. "If we take care of our business, we will not have to worry about how other teams are playing."
Danny Horne
By Matt Stiver Assistant Campus Editor The tiger's roar will be heard in Fort Worth after all. Irving High School running back Tyson "Tiger" Thompson, a Parade Magazine first-team All-American, was one of 18 football players who signed a letter of intent Wednesday to play football for TCU. Thompson, ranked by many sources - including the Dallas Morning News and Fort Worth Star-Telegram - as one of the top 100 recruits in the nation, orally committed to TCU on Dec. 5, 1999. Speculation around whether Thompson would defect from TCU increased after he made an official trip to the University of Arkansas three weeks ago.
"LT is a little bit of an exception. He has size, speed, power and he can break tackles," Franchione said. "When I watch (Thompson's) films, he's very comparable." Franchione said TCU's offensive philosophy helped sway Thompson's decision. "Tailbacks can look at TCU and say, "I'm going to get my touches and yards. I will have a chance to show what I can do,'" Franchione said. Thompson rushed for 2,933 yards on 418 carries (an average more than 7 yards per carry) and 32 touchdowns his senior year. In 1998, he set a Texas Class 5A single-game rushing record with 526 yards on 31 attempts and seven touchdowns against Hurst L.D. Bell. Of the 18 recruits, eight were ranked in the Texas Top 100 by at least one news organization. Franchione said TCU's back-to-back bowl victories and 1999 Western Athletic Conference championship have boosted recruiting efforts. "It has gotten easier for (high-profile) kids to say, 'I'm going to TCU,'" Franchione said, "We certainly have bumped our recruiting up a notch." Thompson and Carrolton Newman Smith High School defensive tackle Brandon Johnson were national 100 selections. Johnson, ranked the No. 20 defensive tackle in the nation, racked up 58 tackles and three sacks his senior year. Franchione said Johnson has the ability to play for the Frogs his freshman year. Franchione said the Frogs focused their recruiting efforts on defensive linemen, safeties and "big receivers." In addition to Johnson, TCU picked up four defensive linemen, four safeties and two receivers taller than 6-foot-3. Three or four recruits have yet to become eligible academically, Franchione said. For freshmen to compete or practice in Division I football, they must achieve certain scores on the SAT or ACT and have a corresponding grade point average. Franchione said the players "have a little work left to do."
Matt Stiver
By Chris Gibson staff reporter The TCU men's and women's swimming and diving teams continue their push toward a Western Athletic Conference title Friday and Saturday night at the Rickel Building. The men take to the water 7 p.m. Friday against the top-ranked team in the nation, the University of Texas at Austin. The women take on Fresno State in a WAC meet 7 p.m. Saturday. The Longhorns are coming off a weekend where they defeated both the No. 3 ranked Arizona Wildcats and the No. 11 ranked Arizona State Sun Devils. "We've really got our hands full with Texas," head coach Richard Sybesma said. "They are swimming really well right now, so we will try and emphasize racing on an individual level. We have some guys that can really battle, and I think that if we look at the meet race by race instead of trying to win it as a whole, we will have much more success." Junior Ryan Mammarella took the victory in the 500-yard freestyle during this past weekend's meet against Southern Methodist University, while Horned Frog sophomores Josh Pipes and Jeff Parkinson both swam to second place finishes in the 100-yard fly and the 100-yard freestyle. "(Mammarella, Pipes and Parkinson) will need to swim well to win, but what we are really interested in is preparing ourselves for the WAC Championship meet," Sybesma said. "Swimming against a team like Texas gives us a great opportunity to do that." Mammarella said he and his teammates are in the part of their season where they begin to taper off their workouts and rest their legs for the WAC meet. "Decreasing the intensity of our workouts really helps," he said. "We get to work on faster movements such as starts and turns. We ultimately want to be at our peak once the (WAC) championship meet comes around." The women are coming off a week where they lost to SMU. SMU came into the meet ranked No. 9 in the nation, but Sybesma said he hopes it's a different story this weekend against the Fresno State squad. "We are really looking forward to challenging Fresno State as a team," he said. "Since this is a WAC school, we intend to give it everything we've got." Jamie MacCurdy will miss this week due to illness. MacCurdy is currently ranked No. 17 in the nation in the 400 individual medley. "Everyone needs to have a great meet to make up for her absence," Sybesma said. "Jamie is really disappointed that she can't swim, but she will be there cheering everyone else on."
Chris Gibson |
| The TCU Daily Skiff © 1998, 1999 Credits |