TCU drops 76-75 heartbreaker vs. Kansas, first Big 12 victory eludes Horned Frogs
FORT WORTH, Texas – TCU appeared well on its way to capturing its first Big 12 victory Wednesday night, but Kansas scored with 14 seconds left to escape Daniel-Meyer Coliseum with a heartbreaking 76-75 victory.
With 32.6 seconds left in a game that the Horned Frogs led by as many as 23 points, Medley found senior Delisa Gross on a beautiful backdoor to give TCU a one-point lead. Kansas came right back though and scored a layup of its own with 14 seconds left to take a 76-75 lead. The Frogs had one final chance with 5.6 seconds remaining to capture their first Big 12 victory of the year, but came up short as Kamy Cole’s jumper was blocked by Kansas’ Chelsea Gardner with time running down.
On the night, freshman Zahna Medley, who was going up against one best point guards in the entire country in Angel Goodrich, was simply unconscious from deep, scoring a game and career-high 35 points on 10-of-22 from the floor, including 7-of-14 from deep. When it was all said and done, Medley posted the fifth-highest point total in a single-game in program history. Her 35 points were the most by a TCU player since former Frog great Emily Carter dropped a school record 43 in 2010. The Illinois native’s seven three-pointers were the fourth-best mark all-time in school history.
For a majority of the game, the Horned Frog freshmen did most of the damage as Medley, Cole and Veja Hamilton combined to score 44 of TCU’s 49 first half points. Cole wrapped-up play with 18 points on 5-of-12 from the field, while Hamilton chipped in with eight points and nine boards.
With the loss, the Horned Frogs moved to 7-16 overall and 0-12 in conference action, while Kansas improved to 15-8 overall and 6-6 in Big 12 play.
Kansas was led on the night by Monica Engelman’s 26 points. Carolyn Davis also had a solid game, tallying 19 points and 13 boards, while Asia Boyd totaled 14 for the night.
Just like she did to begin the game, Medley opened the second half draining her seventh three of the contest a minute into the second half. Kansas cut into the Frog lead at 52-40 off an 8-0 run, but Cole quieted the Jayhawk run by drilling a triple at the 13:59 mark of the second half.
Kansas would continue to pressure the Frogs, pulling within 11 at 55-44 a few moments later, but once again the Purple and White answered from deep as Gross found Donielle Breaux wide-open in the corner for the triple. On the very next trip, Natalie Ventress split the Kansas defense and rolled in a jumper from midrange to push the Frog score to 60-46.
With TCU clinging to a 60-53 advantage, Medley went back to work, scoring a running jumper and three free throws with a little over six minutes remaining in the contest to make the scoreboard read 65-54 in favor of the Purple and White.
Kansas would not back down though, going on a 14-2 run to take the lead at 68-67 with 3:24 showing, but Hamilton regained the Frog lead with a layup down the stretch.
With the scoreboard now at 70-70, Cole tickled the twine from deep to give the Frogs a three-point advantage with a little over a minute in regulation. Kansas regained the lead at 74-73, but the Frogs answered right back off a backdoor cut by Gross. The Jayhawks regained the lead on the very next possession to put the finishing touches on Wednesday night’s contest.
The Frogs got rolling right out of the gates Wednesday as Medley gave fans an early glimpse of what was to come, drilling a trey on the opening possession. The freshman would score two more at the charity stripe on the very next trip down the court and the Frogs were in business.
Medley continued her offensive production a few plays later, draining her second triple of the contest with 17:07 showing on the scoreboard. In all, TCU opened the game on a 10-0 run, with Medley scoring eight of the 10 points. The Frogs’ relentless defensive pressure didn’t even allow Kansas to score from the field until the 15:43 mark.
The Purple and White jumped out to a 15-4 lead with a little over 15 minutes remaining in the period when Cole tickled the twine from the corner. The Frogs continued their hot shooting on the next possession off a Medley jumper, which gave TCU a 13-point advantage.
By the time Medley knifed her way through the Jayhawk defense and connected on her 13th point of the opening half, the Purple and White were rolling, now up 20-8. Kansas would continue to battle, but Hamilton made quick work of the Jayhawk defense, spinning past her defender and kissing it off the glass, which gave TCU a comfortable 22-11 lead with 10:57 showing on the clock.
Medley pushed the score to 28-16 at the 7:38 mark, dropping another triple. Simply put, the Illinois native was on fire from downtown during the opening frame of play, going 4-of-4 from deep up until that point.
The three-point barrage continued down the stretch as back-to-back trey balls by Cole and Medley with a little over six minutes remaining in the period helped the Frogs go up 34-17. TCU pushed its halftime lead to 49-27, which was thanks in large part to the continued steady play of its freshmen. Overall, the newcomers scored 44 of the Frogs’ 49 points during first half action.
TCU will next be in action Saturday at No. 1 Baylor. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m. CT from Waco.
From TCU Athletics
