College Confidential

#TCU women advance to MWC final

LAS VEGAS -- Helena Sverrisdottir scored a game-high 25 points and the TCU defense held New Mexico to 23.7 percent shooting as the Horned Frogs defeated the Lobos in a Mountain West Conference tournament semifinal Friday, 61-40.
It's the first MWC title appearance for the Frogs (22-9). They'll meet fourth-seed Utah, which beat TCU in the semifinals last year when the Frogs were the top seed after winning the regular-season title. The game is at 3 p.m. (CST) at Thomas & Mack Center here in Las Vegas.
Micah Garoutte scored 10 points and Briesha Wynn and Rachel Rentschler each had eight points.
The Frogs were playing without starters Starr Crawford and Antoinette Thompson, who didn't make the trip to Las Vegas due to injuries.

#TCU women's hoops picked to repeat

TCU women's basketball was pickedto repeat as Mountain West Conference champions by a panel of media covering the MWC. Horned Frog guard/forward Helena Sverrisdottir was named the preseason Player of the Year and joins guard Emily Carter on the preseason All-Conference team.
TCU earned 16 of 21 first-place votes among voters for a total of 174 points. San Diego State and BYU were picked second and third with 147 and 145 points, respectively.

Here's how the MWC media predict the women's standings to look in March:

1. TCU (16), 174
2. San Diego State (3), 147
3. BYU (2), 145
4. Utah, 116
5. Wyoming, 103
6. New Mexico, 100
7. UNLV, 64
8. Colorado State, 59
9. Air Force, 28
 

Courtney's streak is over, but Sooners win

Courtney Paris' streak of double-doubles has ended at 112 games but the Oklahoma Sooners defeated the Tennessee Volunteers 80-70, denyingVols coach Pat Summitt in her first attempt of gaining her 1,000th career win.

Paris fouled out with about 40 seconds left with nine points and 12 rebounds, the first time since December 2005 she didn't register double figures in both points and rebounds. As she walked off the court at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, she waved to the crowd while she received a standing ovation.

Bob Knight said he didn't like seeing the Sooners try to get another bucket for Paris in the final minutes with the game already well in hand. OU even called a timeout with 1:17 to play to set up a play for Paris, but she was unable to get the shot. Brent Musburger noted that the streak has become something more for the fans.

Sooners coach Sherri Coale said the streak for Paris had become "like a cloak she had to carry around ... and believe me she'd rather beat Tennessee" than have the streak continue.

Whitney Hand led the Sooners with 20 points, hitting 8-of-9 from the field, and Danielle Robinson had the double-double with 17 points and 12 assists while thoroughly impressing Knight. And Knight believed Courtney's sister Ashley, who had 19 points, has passed her sister, based on what he saw, as a better player.

Whitney Hand tearing it up for OU

The big story line is Pat Summit of Tennessee going for her 1,000th win, and the subplot is Oklahoma star Courtney Paris in serious jeopardy of seeing her double-double streak end at 112th consecutive games. But freshman Whitney Hand of Fort Worth and Argyle Liberty Christian is drawing rave reviews in the Vols-Sooners clash of titans in Oklahoma City.

Hand's steal and subsequent layup gave the Sooners a nine-point lead in the second half. Her overall game is drawing heavy praise from analysts Bob Knight and Nancy Lieberman.

The daughter of former Rangers pitcher Rich Hand is 7-for-7 from the field, including 3-for-3 from the 3-point line for 17 points. "If I ever coach again, I'm going to see if she can transfer and take her with me," Knight said.

Courtney has 11 rebounds and seven points with 6:50 to go.

And Whitney Hand just hit a 3-pointer for a 68-54 Sooners lead.

A&M women hold off Kansas

COLLEGE STATION -- Kansas did something no other team has done against No. 11 Texas A&M this season, shooting 56.4 percent from the field, but the upset-minded Jayhawks still lost.

After getting an earful from the coaching staff at halftime, the Aggies turned up the heat defensively and went on a late 11-0 run to overcome a seven-point second half deficit in a 73-60 victory in front of 7,143 at Reed Arena.

"They got an earful on everything," Texas A&M coach Gary Blair said of the fiery halftime speech. "I better be at church tomorrow. And they better be there too -- to be thankful that we can come back after that. We wouldn't have won this game in Lawrence."

Kansas (12-7, 1-5 Big 12) led 35-29 at the break, going 16-for-25 (64 percent) from the field, but made just six field goals and committed 14 of their 26 turnovers in the second half. A&M scored 29 points off turnovers in the game.

Danielle Gant scored 17 of her game-high 21 points in the second half for the Aggies (17-3, 5-2), who won their third straight since starting Big 12 play 2-2. Takia Starks was just 8-for-21 from the field but tallied 17 points and five steals.

Gant scored five points, had one assist and blocked a shot during A&M's second-half run.

"When you play the [No. 11] team, you better be ready to throw two punches and then duck when they throw one," Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson said. "In this league, you've got to be able to answer a run and weather a storm. ... Turnovers, losing some poise, a lack of toughness and poor point guard play hurt us."

Danielle McCray had 24 points for the Jayhawks, the highest total for an Aggies opponent this season.

-- Lori Dann

Mangum done for season

It was announced today that TCU junior guard Eboni Mangum is going to have season-ending knee surgery.

Mangum had been playing all year with a torn ACL, which was re-aggravated last weekend at UNLV. She did come back to play in Tuesday's 62-46 loss to BYU, and finished with three points in 15 minutes. She played in 12 games, starting six, and finishes the season averaging just over six points and two rebounds per game.

It's a disappointing end for Mangum, who sat out last year after transferring from Louisiana Tech. Her potential was also noted before the season, when she was voted Mountain West Conference preseason Newcomer of the Year.

"I thought Eboni fought extremely hard throughout the season, but her knee wasn't going to cooperate," TCU coach Jeff Mittie said.

-Trae Thompson

Odd night at Daniel-Meyer

OK, sitting here watching the TCU-BYU women's basketball game, and I don't think I've ever covered a more bizarre game.
The evening started uncomfortably when the TCU student singing the national anthem botched it not once, but twice. I felt horrible. Too bad more fans didn't start just singing real loud, helping her out.
But then came the game. With just under 10 minutes left, a young boy ran onto the court while a play was going on. He looked about four.  He was quickly helped off the court.
Stay tuned. Who knows what else will happen....

-Trae Thompson

Big win for the Longhorns

No. 6 Texas broke a 31-31 tie by outscoring Tennessee 22-9 to open the second half and cruised to a 73-59 victory over the No. 7 Lady Vols at Frank Erwin Center. Texas is now 9-0 for just the fourth time in school history, their best start since the 1987-88 season. Former North Crowley standout Brittainey Raven led four Longhorns in double figures with 21 points. Texas shott 44.1 percent from the field in the second half after struggling to a 29 percent mark in the first half. Tennessee (7-2) committed 18 turnovers and was outrebounded 52-41.

-- Lori Dann

Texas, Tennessee women tied at half

After leading defending national champion Tennessee by as many as eight points in the early stages, the No. 7 Texas women went to the locker room tied at 31-31. The Longhorns got off to a quick start, hitting 6 of their first 10 shots, and were up 19-11 at the 11-minute mark of the opening half. However, they closed the half by hitting only 3 of 21 shots and are shooting just 29 percent for the game. Tennessee is shooting 35.3 percent but has been outrebounded 28-21.

-- Lori Dann

Lady Frogs knock off another top three team

The TCU women's basketball team defeated No.3 Cal 82-73 tonight in the Colliers International Classic in Berkeley, Calif.
The Lady Frogs (8-2) were led by Rachel Rentschler, who finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds. She was 9-of-13 from the field and three-for-three from three-point range. Helena Sverrisdottir also had 17 points and 10 assists.
"As a team we played good and communicated so well," Rentschler said by phone. "We kept talking to each other. On offense, we recognized what they were doing defensively, and if they sagged in, we made sure to get an open three. If they spread us with their zone, we got our posts involved. It was such a team thing."
Cal (7-1) is the second third-ranked team TCU has beat this season. The Lady Frogs stunned then No.3 Maryland 80-68 in their season opener on Nov.14 at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
TCU coach Jeff Mittie said he was pleased with the quality minutes he got on Sunday, adding everyone made big plays.
"We're getting more comfortable," he said. "This is a pretty new basketball team, and they're getting better at recognizing things. We've not had a lot of practice since we've been playing so much, so we've been watching more film, but we're getting more comfortable."

-Trae Thompson