TCU takes down No. 23 Oklahoma State to record its first victory in Big 12 Conference play

FORT WORTH, Texas – TCU had four players score in double-figures Wednesday night en route to a thrilling 64-63 upset victory over No. 23 Oklahoma State at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.

With the win, the Horned Frogs, who ended the game on a 13-3 run, improved to 8-17 overall and 1-13 in league play, while the nationally ranked Cowgirls dropped to 18-7 overall and 7-7 in conference action. Against Oklahoma State, the Purple and White have now also claimed the last two meetings in Fort Worth, which includes a 97-63 victory over then No. 20 OSU in 2007.

On a historic night at the DMC, senior’s Whitney Williams and Delisa Gross both came up huge, making pivotal plays late in the game Wednesday, which helped TCU record its first Big 12 victory in program history. With 1:36 showing on the clock and the Frogs trailing by one, Williams stepped in front of OSU’s Brittney Martin and took a charge, while Gross sealed the TCU victory 32 seconds later, scoring a tough layup down low off a miss, which gave the Frogs a 64-63 lead.

In a game that featured six ties and 10 lead changes, Oklahoma State had one final chance to regain the lead with 9.9 seconds showing on the clock, but Kendra Suttles’ three-point attempt with 3 seconds left fell off the front rim and the Horned Frogs were able to record their first conference victory.

Gross led TCU on the night, tying a season-high with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field. The Waco native scored exactly 13 earlier this month against the Cowgirls as well. Donielle Breaux also had a solid night with 12 points on 4-of-5 from the floor. Not to be outdone, freshman Zahna Medley and sophomore Natalie Ventress chipped in with 11 and 10 points apiece, respectively.

Liz Donohoe carried Oklahoma State with a game-high 22 points, while Toni Young recorded 18 points and 13 boards.

For the game, TCU, who outscored the Cowgirls off the bench a whopping 25-0, out-rebounded OSU, 39-38. The Frogs also recorded an 18-14 advantage in second-chance points Wednesday.

Kamy Cole opened the second half, swatting away a would-be shot on one end and then drilling a trey ball on the other to give TCU a 40-38 lead on the opening possession. OSU regained the lead at 44-41 a few moments later off a 6-1 run, but the Frogs calmed the storm at the charity stripe, pulling back ahead at 45-44 with 15:17 left in the second half.

Following a mini-run by Oklahoma State, Cole knotted the game at 48-48 off a running layup midway through the period. TCU regained the lead at 49-48 thanks to all out hustle by Gross, but the Cowgirls responded by going up 54-49 on back-to-back three-pointers.

With the scoreboard reading 60-51 in slight favor of OSU down the stretch, Latricia Lovings corralled a loose ball and put it back up to make it 60-53. Following a three by Oklahoma State, Medley banked home a triple of her own to pull the score to 63-56 with 4:45 showing.

By the time Ventress dropped in a jumper at the 3:25 mark, TCU was in the midst of a 8-3 run, which made the score 63-59 with a little over two minutes to go in the game.

Medley then made one of the biggest buckets of the game, nailing a deep three at the 1:59 mark to pull the Frogs within one at 63-62. On the very next possession, Gross grabbed a rebound and powered home a layup to push the Frogs ahead at 64-63.

Veja Hamilton got the Frogs going early, nailing a jumper on the opening possession to give TCU a 2-0 lead. TCU continued to roll the next trip down the court as Ventress tickled the twine from deep almost two minutes into the contest.

Oklahoma State battled back to take a 9-7 lead before Cole connected from behind the arc to regain the Frog lead at 10-9 with a little over 15 minutes to go in the opening frame.

The Cowgirls would score the next six, but Lovings ended the mini-run, finding Donielle Breaux on an alley-oop to beat the shot clock and the pull the Frogs within four at 16-12. The sophomore would continue her offensive production on the very next trip, scoring on a running layup at the 11:16 mark, which brought the score to 16-14.

With the scoreboard at 19-16 in slight favor of the Cowgirls, the two teams traded possessions before Breaux drove the baseline and kissed the rock off the glass on a beautiful reverse layup plus the foul. In all, the Houston product produced 11 out of the 13 points for the Frogs to make the score 27-23.

Down the stretch, Gross went to work, rolling in a reverse layup to pull the Frogs within two at 27-25. A few plays later, Gross connected on a tough layup to make the scoreboard read 29-27 in slight favor of OSU.

With the score now 34-29, Gross was able to get inside the paint and power home a tough three-point play. In all, the Waco native rattled home nine-straight for the Purple and White before Medley beat the clock from deep to pull the Frogs within one at 36-35.

A late layup by Lovings off an assist from Medley brought the Cowgirl halftime lead to 38-37 at the break.

TCU host West Virginia at home on Saturday while Oklahoma State travels home to face Oklahoma on the same day.

From TCU Athletics