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Hoops
clinch WAC title After the TCU women’s basketball team clinched at least a tie of the Western Athletic Conference title Sunday with its victory against Hawaii, senior guard Amy Porter said the Frogs don’t like co-championships. The Frogs don’t have to share the championship anymore as they defeated San Jose State, 66-54, Tuesday night at the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. Porter said the victory feels better than the victory against Hawaii.
“It’s a big relief,” Porter said. “It hard to believe, but it feels better than the other night. Sunday’s game was just a pressure-packed game. We didn’t have as much pressure (Tuesday) because we already knew we were at least co-champions. “We didn’t have a good game by far, but we didn’t want to share, so we managed to pull it out.” With Tuesday’s victory, the Frogs claimed their first conference title and extended their record to 21-6 and 13-2 in the conference. The Spartans scored the first two points of the game. With 16:38 remaining in the half, the Spartans lead the game, 9-7. Two free throws from junior forward Tricia Payne tied the game at nine a piece. With only 11:14 left in the half, TCU held just a four-point lead, but a 8-0 run by San Jose State made that lead quickly disappear as the Spartans took a, 21-17, lead. In the first half, TCU shot just 33.3 percent (11-of-33) from the field, while San Jose State shot 48 percent (12-of-25) from the field. Junior forward Kati Safaritova led the Frogs in scoring with eight points. She also had three rebounds, a block and a steal in the first 20 minutes of play. The Spartans were led by junior guard Danada Smith, who netted seven points. In the second half, the Frogs quickly opened up an eight-point lead with 17:43 remaining in the game. Senior forward Janice Thomas, who was held scoreless in the first half, scored six of the team’s first eight points in the half. Four of Thomas’ eight total points were from the free-throw line. With 15:59 remaining in the second half, TCU shot 83.3 percent (5-of-6) from the field, while San Jose shot 66.7 percent (4-of-6) from the field. TCU, however, failed to make its next six shots. San Jose also had troubles during this time as they made just 1 of 4 shots. With the victory, the Frogs swept the series with the Spartans this season. The Frogs first won against San Jose State Jan. 5, 72-63, in California. The Frogs are currently 13-3 when playing at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. Tuesday’s win extended the Frogs winning streak at home to 12 games. Head coach Jeff Mittie said the Frogs’ season has been defined by their resilience. “When you’ve reached this point, you have to close the deal,” he said. “I can’t stress the resilience of this team enough. It’s a mark of a good basketball team to find a way to win when they’re not playing their best.”
Kelly Morris |
