Junior guard TK LaFleur dribbles around coverage in the paint Thursday during TCU's 70-45 home victory over UTA.
The No. 24 Lady Horned Frogs used an 18-0 scoring run to help the team secure its third straight win to start the season as TCU defeated University of Texas-Arlington 70-45 Thursday night.
With TCU trailing 21-17 with 4:00 to go in the first half, sophomore forward Rachel Rentschler made a 3-pointer to kick-start a Lady Frogs' offense that missed its first 11 shots from the field. The team would score 12 unanswered points, giving TCU a 29-21 lead at halftime.
"We ended the first half very well," head coach Jeff Mittie said. "We went into halftime and it was kind of a quiet locker room. I thought they'd be a little more energetic after the way we ended."
Junior guard TK LaFleur led TCU in the first half with eight points on 2-9 shooting. She ended the game with 13 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Helena Sverrisdottir took three shots in first half, scoring six points while collecting four rebounds and four assists. She would become more assertive in the second half and finished with 17 points, 12 rebounds and five assists in 29 minutes.
While LaFleur and Sverrisdottir combined for 30 of the team's 70 points, the junior said every player is contributing to the success.
"Everybody on our team is capable of scoring," she said. "As we work through our offense, anyone is capable of starting a run. But our offense wasn't clicking today so everyone stepped it up on defense."
The Lady Frogs connected on 9-37 field goals, shooting 24 percent for the first 20 minutes of action. The Lady Mavericks shot 25.7 percent in the first half and outrebounded TCU by eight, 31-23. But the home team was aided by eight trips to the free-throw stripe, making every attempt and scored 14 points off of 14 Maverick turnovers.
TCU shot more than 50 percent from the field in the second half, including on 3-point shots. The Lady Frogs are 3-0 for the first time since the 2003-04 season, when TCU won its first six games. The win marked Mittie's 350th career win.
"It's a good start for us," Mittie said. "We feel good that we are three games in and have three wins."
Women's Basketball Game
What: No. 24 TCU vs. Sam Houston State
When: Sunday, 5 p.m.
Where: Daniel-Meyer Coliseum