http://www.gofrogs.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/021616aaa.html
Frogs Head to Lawrence to face Kansas
TCU Horned Frogs (13-11, 5-8) vs. Kansas Jayhawks (5-19, 0-13)
Date (Time)Â Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016 (7:00 p.m. CT)
Location Allen Fieldhouse | Lawrence, Kansas
TV ESPN3
Radio Listing KTCU 88.7 FM in the DFW Metroplex Jeff Williams (play-by-play)
Live Stats GoFrogs.com
Game Notes TCU Game Notes
FORT WORTH, Texas —Â TCU travels to Lawrence, Kan., for the first of two meetings with the Kansas Jayhawks within the final five games of the regular season for the Horned Frogs. Coming off a 79-69 win over Iowa State, TCU is looking for consecutive league wins for the first time since opening league play 2-0 for the first time as a member of the Big 12 Conference.
TCU senior All-American candidate Zahna Medley was named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Player of the Week earlier this week. Medley was honored for the sixth time in her career and the second time as player of the week. It is the 33rd time a TCU player has earned a Conference Player of the Week and 37th time a TCU player has earned Conference Player or Conference Freshman of the Week honors since the start of the 2005-06 season for the Frogs.
It came following a big week for Medley, totaling 43 points for a 21.5 average in TCU’s two games last week to move into the Big 12 top 25 in career points. She connected on seven three-pointers and is now just three away from tying the TCU career record. Additionally, Medley needs 73 points to tie Sandora Irvin for TCU’s all-time scoring mark. She had 16 fourth quarter points against No. 4 Baylor and finished the game with 24 as TCU whittled a 25-point lead down to six points in the final minute with a Big 12 Conference record 37-point fourth quarter. Medley hit four three’s in the game and made all five of her fourth quarter shots for the Frogs. Against Iowa State, the senior guard had a game-high 19 points, hitting 3-of-6 from three-point range in helping TCU secure its second sweep of the season. The effort versus Iowa State gave Medley her 90th career double-figure game and 19th of the season.
2015-16 HIGHLIGHTS
• Zahna Medley was named the Big 12 Conference Player of the Week on Feb. 15, 2016. It came following a big week for Medley, totaling 43 points for a 21.5 average in TCU’s two games last week to move into the Big 12 top 25 in career points. She connected on seven three-pointers and is now just three away from tying the TCU career record.
• TCU has won twice on the road in league play in 2015-16, including a 72-62 win in Hilton Coliseum at Iowa State. TCU also overcame a 15-point second half deficit on Dec. 30, 2015 to beat Texas Tech in Lubbock to help TCU win their Big 12 Conference opener for the first time in program history. The Frogs opened league play with a 2-0 record.
• TCU began play in the new Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena on Dec. 20, 2015 with a win over Southern Utah. The $72 million renovation gives TCU one of the nation’s premier basketball venues.
• The Horned Frogs have signed one of the best recruiting classes in program history and one of the nation’s top 10 classes this year with the November 2015 signings of Amber Ramirez, Mikayla Christian, Kianna Ray, Ella Hellessey and Danielle Rainey. Ramirez is the top signee in the class and is ranked among the top 15 players nationally, making her the second highest rated player to sign with TCU in program history behind Sandora Irvin (ranked 6th prior to joining Frogs).
• Ramirez has taken home slew of honors throughout the 2015-16 season including being named the first McDonald’s All-American Game selection in program history and a Naismith Trophy finalist.
• TCU ended its two-year tenure in the University Recreation Center on Dec. 12, 2015 when the Horned Frogs hosted No. 3/3 Notre Dame. The Frogs went 21-4 in 25 games in the venue with three of the four losses coming at the hands of teams ranked in the top five nationally. The tenure in the venue included a 12-game home winning streak that was the third longest in TCU history for home games.
TALKING POINTS AND NOTABLE STATISTICS
• TCU has used eight different starting lineups this season, including five different lineups in conference games.
• 10 players on the TCU roster have at least one career start to their name, including nine different players this season.
• TCU has faced eight ranked opponents this season, the most among any team in the Big 12 Conference.
• Zahna Medley ranks in the top five of 10 TCU career statistical categories.
• TCU is looking to reverse its road results in the month of February since joining the Big 12 Conference with a win in Lawrence. TCU is 1-13 in February league games on the road since the start of the 2012-13 season.
• The game at Kansas will be a homecoming of sorts for freshman Claire Ferguson, who makes her second trip to her home state of Kansas this season. Ferguson is a native of Olathe, Kansas – located about 30 miles from Lawrence.
• TCU has made 17-of-35 three-point field goals in the last two outings after shooting just 10-of-44 (.227) from three-point range in the previous three games during a three-game road swing.
• TCU’s 37 fourth quarter points against Baylor on Feb. 10, 2016 were the most by the Frogs this season and the most by a Big 12 Conference team in a game this year. It was the third time this year TCU has scored 30 or more points in a single quarter after scoring 30 in the third quarter against New Orleans and 34 in the fourth quarter against West Virginia on Jan. 24, 2016.
• TCU’s 75 points against Baylor were the most given up by the Bears in Big 12 Conference play over the last two seasons, tying the same 75 points TCU scored against them last season. It was the second most points allowed by Baylor this season behind the 81 scored by Miami (FL) on Dec. 19, 2015 in the Bahamas.
• TCU currently has five players averaging at least 8.0 points per game and have consistently had six players averaging 8.0 or more points per game this season. In program history, TCU’s 1999-00 team had six players average at least 8.0 points per game and the program has had nine teams have at least five players average 8.0 points per game or more for a season.
• TCU is in its second season under the leadership of head coach Raegan Pebley. Pebley led TCU to 18 wins in 2014-15, the most wins in a coaches’ first-year at TCU in program history.
• TCU played seven games in the opening 19 days of the season, including road trips to SMU, Texas A&M and Butler.
SERIES NOTABLES
• TCU and Kansas have split the eight all-time meetings between the teams.
• TCU has won three of the last four games between the teams, including an 80-63 decision in Lawrence last season.
RACE TO THE TOP CONTINUES FOR MEDLEY
Zahna Medley now ranks second in TCU history in career points and needs 73 to tie and 74 to break Sandora Irvin’s TCU career scoring mark.
Medley moved into second place on the career scoring list on Jan. 30 at Oklahoma State. Medley passed TCU great Helena Sverrisdottir on the all-time scoring list with a jumper in the lane with 8:46 to go in the game that pushed her past Sverrisdottir’s 1,764 career total.
MEDLEY NAMED BIG 12 POW
TCU senior All-American candidate Zahna Medley was named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Player of the Week on Feb. 15, 2016.
The honor is selected via a vote of a media panel that covers the Conference.
Medley was honored for the sixth time in her career and the second time as player of the week. It is the 33rd time a TCU player has earned a Conference Player of the Week and 37th time a TCU player has earned Conference Player or Conference Freshman of the Week honors since the start of the 2005-06 season for the Frogs.
It came following a big week for Medley, totaling 43 points for a 21.5 average in TCU’s two games last week to move into the Big 12 top 25 in career points. She connected on seven three-pointers and is now just three away from tying the TCU career record. Additionally, Medley needs 73 points to tie Sandora Irvin for TCU’s all-time scoring mark.
She had 16 fourth quarter points against No. 4 Baylor and finished the game with 24 as TCU whittled a 25-point lead down to six points in the final minute with a Big 12 Conference record 37-point fourth quarter. Medley hit four three’s in the game and made all five of her fourth quarter shots for the Frogs. Against Iowa State, the senior guard had a game-high 19 points, hitting 3-of-6 from three-point range in helping TCU secure its second sweep of the season. The effort versus Iowa State gave Medley her 90th career double-figure game and 19th of the season.
MEDLEY MOVING UP BIG 12 LIST
Senior Zahna Medley passed TCU assistant coach and Texas legend Edwina Brown on the all-time Big 12 Conference scoring list on Jan. 20 against Texas with her three-point field goal early in the first quarter that gave Medley her fifth point on the day. Medley joined elite company on Nov. 24, 2015 against Prairie View A&M when she became the 45th player to score 1,500 career points as a player in the Big 12 Conference. The list includes current TCU assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Edwina Brown.
• Medley became the 5th player in TCU women’s basketball history to reach the 1,500 career point mark.
• Medley became the 14th player in the combined history of TCU women’s basketball and TCU men’s basketball to reach the 1,500 career point mark when she surpasses the mark.
THREE FOR Z
TCU All-American candidate Zahna Medley is set to join the company of the top three point shooters in Big 12 Conference history in the near future. Medley currently ranks 4th on the all-time list with 293 three-point field goals.
MEDLEY MILESTONES
• Medley is quickly approaching the 500 assist mark for her career. No player in the nation currently has 1,500 career points and 500 career assists but Minnesota’s Rachel Banham, Medley and Austin Peay’s Tiasha Gray are all close to reaching the mark, having already reached 1,500 career points.
• Medley became the 26th player in Big 12 Conference history to reach the 1,800 point mark in a career during TCU’s 81-75 loss to No. 4 Baylor on Feb. 10, 2016.
• Medley entered the top 25 in Big 12 Conference history on Feb. 13, 2016 against Iowa State.
MEDLEY AND THE RECORD BOOK
• Medley’s 116 career starts rank 4th in TCU history. If she starts the remainder of the regular season games and TCU’s first Big 12 Conference Tournament game, she would have 122 starts to her credit and rank second in TCU history behind Helena Sverrisdottir who started 127 games from 2007-11.
• Medley’s 118 career appearances are close to placing her in the top 10 in program history for career games played. The school record is 135 by Adrianne Ross from 2003-08. If she appears in the remainder of the regular season games and TCU’s first Big 12 Conference Tournament game, she would have 124 career appearances and rank ninth on the all-time TCU list.
MEDLEY STREAKS
• Medley has scored at least 15 points in five of TCU’s last six games.
• Medley has hit at least six free throws in four league games this season and at least four in seven league games in 2015-16.
• Medley has scored in double figures or had at least three assists in every game this season and in all but four games of her career (114-of-118).
• Medley has knocked down at least three three-point field goals in 17-of-24 games this season. She accomplished the feat nine times last season and has done it 50 times in her career.
HAMILTON LOOKING TO JOIN ELITE TCU REBOUNDING CLUB
TCU senior Veja Hamilton needs eight rebounds to reach 500 for her career and become the 12th player in TCU history to reach the unique plateau.
Hamilton can become the 9th player in TCU history to reach 900 career points and 500 career rebounds once she surpasses the rebounding mark.
THREE WITH 800 CAREER POINTS
TCU has three players with 800 or more career points on its active roster.
Zahna Medley and Veja Hamilton each have reached the mark while at TCU while Destynee Hives-McCray has achieved the mark during her career between her accomplishments at both TCU and SMU.
HAMILTON LEFTOVERS
• Hamilton has scored in double figures in three straight games, her first three-game or better stretch since she opened league play with 12-straight such games last season.
LOOKING FOR WINS AWAY FROM HOME
TCU was a team that made major progress as a program in 2014-15, but its one downfall was playing on the road. The Horned Frogs were 2-9 on the road and 3-11 away from home last season.
TCU opened its 2015-16 road schedule with a 89-79 win over SMU on Nov. 18, 2015 before nearly beating No. 12/12 Texas A&M on Nov. 21, 2015 in an 82-78 decision. The Frogs matched their road win total from a season ago with their 78-69 win over Texas Tech in Lubbock on Dec. 30, 2015 and then surpassed it on Jan. 27, 2016 with a 72-62 win in Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa over Iowa State.
Raegan Pebley’s past success playing away from home at her previous stops bodes well for expected improvement away from home in the upcoming season. Her squads at Fresno State were a combined 22-14 away from home in two seasons, including a 12-7 mark in 2012-13 and a 10-7 mark in 2013-14.
A TCU win over Kansas in Lawrence would give TCU a third conference road win this year, tying the best mark since joining the Big 12 Conference in 2012-13. TCU won three times on the road in league in 2013-14 – posting wins at Texas Tech, Iowa State and Kansas State.
BIG 12 SWEEPS
TCU has two league sweeps in 2015-16, beating Texas Tech and Iowa State. The Frogs have secured two league sweeps in each of the last three seasons, including a sweep of Oklahoma State last year that included a win over Oklahoma State when they were ranked 16th in the nation.
#TripleThreat The Frogs are among the nation’s top three-point shooting teams and currently have three of the top seven three-point shooters in the Big 12 Conference overall on the season with AJ Alix (.424), Toree Thompson (.420) and Zahna Medley (.415) leading the way.
FROGS’ 3-POINT SUCCESS AMONG BEST IN BIG 12 CONFERENCE HISTORY
TCU’s 39.1 percent shooting clip in 2015-16 is among the best in Big 12 Conference history. The Frogs are trying to finish among the top 10 in the nation in three point shooting to become the first team since Oklahoma in 2012-13 to finish in the top 10 nationally in three-point field goal shooting.
Overall, 14 teams have finished in the top 10 nationally in three-point field goal percentage from the Big 12 Conference.
QUEENS OF THE COMEBACK
TCU has shown a knack for coming from behind to win under head coach Raegan Pebley. TCU posted six wins last season after they overcame a deficit of eight points or more in the contest.
The most notable came in a 86-84 win over Iowa State to help head coach Raegan Pebley record her first career win against a Big 12 opponents. TCU followed that win with another victory over Oklahoma State just three days later, erasing an eight-point deficit to register a 70-66 win.
TCU has won six conference games over the last two seasons when they faced a deficit of 8 or more during the game.
LOOKING TO CLOSE THE DEAL
TCU has built big leads against multiple ranked teams this season but been unable to hold on and win the game. On four occasions, the Frogs have lost a game in which they held a double-digit lead.
TCU also lost a 14-point lead in the second round of the 2015 Women’s NIT last year at Southern Miss in a 77-73 loss to close out the 2014-15 season.