By Danny Horne staff reporter It is March again and that means "March Madness" has begun for women's college basketball teams all over the country. The TCU women's basketball team will play for a spot in the Women's NCAA Tournament or the Women's National Invitation Tournament at Selland Arena in Fresno, Calif. As the No. 5 seed in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament, the Lady Frogs open play against the No. 4 seed Tulsa Golden Hurricane 4:30 p.m. (CST) Wednesday. The Lady Frogs head into the tournament optimistic that they can surprise a few teams, junior guard Jill Sutton said. "We know that anything can happen in the conference tournament," Sutton said. "This time of year is the time for Cinderella to come out, and we plan on playing that role." TCU (16-13, 7-7 WAC) is coming off a 63-62 road win over Rice, who the Lady Frogs had not beaten since 1991, and has won five of its last seven games. Tulsa (13-14, 9-5 WAC) comes into the tournament having won four of five but most recently lost at home to Southern Methodist 58-45. "Tulsa has had a surprising year in the WAC," TCU head coach Jeff Mittie said. "They have specifically been playing well at the end of the season. We have also been playing our best basketball lately. Everyone knows that if you are playing well at the end of the season, anything can happen in the tournament. That's why I think everything is up for grabs." The two teams split the season series with each team winning on its home court. Tulsa beat the Lady Frogs on Jan. 8, 68-55. On Feb. 5, TCU got revenge by defeating the Golden Hurricane 80-58. The Lady Frogs lead the overall series 7-5. "We did not start very well against them in the first game, but we started strong at home and played well," junior forward Janice Thomas said. "We obviously look for another good start when we play again." In the first meeting of the season, the Lady Frogs shot just 30 percent from the field, 17 percent from three-point range and 45 percent from the free-throw line. "We were a totally different team the second time we played," Mittie said. "We confused them defensively and played much better offensively. I liked how we played against (Tulsa) at home, and I hope that carries over to the tournament." In the second game, TCU shot 48 percent from the field, 38 percent from behind the three-point arc and hit 72 percent of its free throws. Defensively, the Lady Frogs held Tulsa to 36 percent shooting and out-rebounded them 47-27. The Lady Frogs' defense will have to contend with two second-team All-WAC selections in their first-round meeting with Tulsa. Senior forward Lila Osceola ranks seventh in the conference in scoring with 14.3 points a game. She is also first in the WAC in field goal percentage at 54 percent. Senior guard Kasie Pittman has averaged 12.9 points per game and leads the conference in steals with 92. In the two games against TCU, Osceola and Pittman have combined for 25.5 points a game which is just two points off their season average. "We know what they can do," Mittie said. "At this point in the season, there aren't many secrets. We will be mixing up our defenses to try to disrupt their offensive rhythm." The Lady Frogs bring to the tournament the WAC's top-ranked scoring offense led by senior guard Diamond Jackson's 13.2 points a game. Sutton (10.6 points a game) and sophomore guard Tricia Payne (11.1 points a game) also average in double figures for TCU. Mittie said the Lady Frogs will not be depending on the guards to win games. "I don't think we have to rely on them," Mittie said. "We have been very balanced this season with the inside and outside game. Janice (Thomas) and (freshman center) Kim (Walter) have played very well for us inside to help keep us balanced. They have kept us from having to put the game on our guards." The Lady Frogs will play without junior guard Amy Sutton who continues to recover from a fractured right fibula suffered against Hawaii Jan. 15. "Amy (Sutton) won't play this week because her leg is not healing as quickly as we thought it would," Mittie said. "As it has been all season, we won't have a problem with depth if we stay out of foul trouble." The way the bracket is set, if TCU defeats Tulsa and SMU gets by San Jose State, the Lady Frogs will face the Mustangs for the third time this season. SMU (19-7, 12-2 WAC) beat the Lady Frogs twice this season and has beaten them 19 times in a row. "All I can say about playing SMU again is that the underdog historically takes more chances in a game like that," Mittie said. "We will have nothing to lose."
Danny Horne
By Chris Ray skiff staff Coming out of the weekend's defeat over No. 37 Texas A&M, the TCU women's tennis team knocked down another hurdle on the way to the top of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Tuesday. The Frogs upset No. 17-ranked South Carolina in a 5-1 defeat at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center. No. 41-ranked TCU took five of six singles matches en route to the win. The Frogs put the brakes on South Carolina's winning streak at five matches and extended a winning streak of their own to two matches. The Frogs were paced by the play of their top three singles players - senior Lucie Dvorakova, freshman Dorrit Huppes and senior Daria Zoldakova. Dvorakova, last week's Western Athletic Conference Female Player of the Week, had the biggest upset of the day. Dvorakova defeated No. 14-ranked Katarina Markovski in a straight-set match, 6-3, 6-2. Playing out of the No. 1 singles spot, Dvorakova extended her match winning streak to eight and grabbed her 20th win of the season, improving to 20-5. Huppes upended No. 75-ranked Jennifer Radman in a straight-set victory, 6-1, 6-0. Huppes surrendered only one break point throughout the whole match en route to the blowout defeat. The win marked the 18th time this season Huppes has defeated an opponent in a straight-set match in which she hasn't surrendered one single set. Huppes extended a winning streak of her own to seven matches. "Dorrit has been playing very, very good for the past couple of weeks," head coach Roland Ingram said. "She has the skills, but most importantly, the mental determination to win the match - that's what is important." At the No. 3 singles position, Zoldakova defeated Leigh Eichelberger, 6-2, 6-1 in straight sets. Zoldakova and doubles teammate Dvorakova did not get the opportunity to improve on their doubles record, as South Carolina defaulted all doubles matches. Senior Jessika Kjellgren, playing out of the No. 4 singles spot, knocked off No. 87-ranked Tamara Sutton, 6-2, 6-3. Kjellgren improved to 16-7 on the year and broke her four-match losing streak. Rounding out the wins was freshman Debbie Bell who defeated Lynn-Yin Tan, 7-6, 6-1 in a match that started off close yet ended in a runaway win for Bell. Bell improved to 7-5 on the year with the win. "The girls are playing with great confidence lately, especially against good, solid teams like South Carolina and Texas A&M," Ingram said. "We came in today and did two things: First, we played well from the start of the match until the end and second of all, we played with the mentality that we can beat them out there." South Carolina surrendered before the doubles matches with no chance of winning the match. With the win, the Frogs improved to 9-3 on the season and 4-2 vs. opponents ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association polls.
Chris Ray
By Adam Vilfordi skiff staff There is talk of moving to a new conference, of winning another Western Athletic Conference championship and even of having another Heisman Trophy winner, but before any of that happens the Frogs must go through the rigors of spring practice. The Frogs started spring drills Friday and will continue until April 8 when they play the annual Purple-White scrimmage.
"All of our redshirted freshmen have come out with the idea of earning a spot and finding a way to get on the field," he said. While there are some spots in the defense that will be won by untested players, the returning starters use spring practice to get better and improve their individual efforts, said Aaron Schobel, junior defensive end. "Guys who have been here for four years can still use these practices to get better," Schobel said. Freshman quarterback Casey Printers said he is working diligently to improve his skills and become a leader on the field.
"I feel like Major Applewhite did when Ricky Williams was at Texas," Printers said. "I think that (Tomlinson) will open up the offense for us, and I am ready to take advantage." While Printers has a Heisman candidate in the backfield, he also has a new coach on the sideline. Printers has been given the opportunity to sharpen his skills under the eye of newly acquired coach, Les Koenning Jr. Koenning, who was formerly the offensive coordinator at the University of Houston, has been given the responsibility of helping Printers learn the technical aspect of playing quarterback. Franchione said Koenning will help Printers vary the offensive attack with the option and the deep routes.
Adam Vilfordi |
The players understand that spring practice
is a period of evaluation for those who have backup roles and for redshirt
freshmen who will fight for playing time next season, head coach Dennis
Franchione said.
Printers said he realizes the team played
well enough to win last season; however, he is ready to exceed the goals
that were reached last year. Printers said he is excited about the prospects
for next year especially with junior tailback and Heisman Trophy candidate
LaDainian Tomlinson returning. | The TCU Daily Skiff © 1998, 1999 Credits |