Lady Frogs battle Bearcats
By Drew Irwin
Skiff Staff

The Conference USA preseason coaches’ poll indicated two teams would most likely battle for the Conference USA championship — TCU and Cincinnati.

But after playing 14 games so far this season, the two teams have gone in opposite directions.

The Lady Frogs are 7-7 (0-1 in C-USA), while the Bearcats are first in C-USA at 11-3 (1-0 in C-USA).

The Frogs will face off against Cincinnati at 6 p.m. Friday at Shoemaker Center, a place the Bearcats have not lost this year (10-0). TCU has yet to win on the road (0-5).

“They’re a good team all around,” head coach Jeff Mittie said. “They’re very good offensively, and they have a good defense.”

Mittie said Cincinnati’s three biggest weapons are junior Valerie King, sophomore Debbie Merrill and senior K.B. Sharp. King leads Cincinnati in points, averaging 17.9 points a game. Merrill is close behind, scoring 17.4 points a game. Sharp, who broke the team record for assists last season, leads the Bearcats again in assists this year with 90.

“Stopping King is definitely something we need to focus on,” Mittie said. “We did a good job of that last year. We made her make some tough shots, but she’s an outstanding player.”

In last season’s match-up on Jan. 18, TCU beat Cincinnati 73-57, and King scored 16 points. The Bearcats shot only 28.1 percent from the field.

Defensively this year, the Bearcats are only giving up an average of 58 points a game, and they are even tighter at home.

“They mix up their defenses a lot,” Mittie said. “We’re going to have to handle that differently.”

Merrill leads Cincinnati in both offensive and defensive rebounds, collecting an average of 6.9 a game. Senior Carolyn Alexander is not far behind, averaging 6.4 a game. Alexander also leads the team in steals with 20 for the season.

TCU plays Louisville Sunday to end a three game road trip. The Lady Frogs’ home conference opener is Jan. 24 against East Carolina.

Drew Irwin
r.a.irwin@tcu.edu