Fort Worth - Led by Chanice Smith and Sequeena Thomas who both scored 10 points, the Sam Houston State women's basketball team led TCU for more than 24 minutes before the Horned Frogs rallied for a 60-49 non-conference victory.
Free throw shooting by the Frogs and a 10-minute late scoring drought by the Bearkats proved fatal as Sam Houston dropped to 3-4 for the season. TCU evened its record at 5-5.
The Horned Frogs went to the line 36 times, hitting 25 free throws while Sam Houston shot only 17 charity shots, making 11.
Despite the disparity at the free throw line, Sam Houston still held a narrow 38-36 lead with 10 minutes to play. But Britni Martin's three-pointer at the 12:21 mark was the only field goal for the Bearkats for the next 10:24 of play.
Thomas ended the field goal drought with a jumper with 2:08 to play. By then, the Horned Frogs had rolled up an 18-1 run to put the game out of reach.
"I was really proud of how hard we played," head coach Brenda Nichols said. "We had some awesome defense. Give credit to TCU, however. They came out strong late in the second half and the game shifted. We played a good 30 minutes. Now we need to learn how to take care of that last 10."
Turnovers also played a roll as TCU scored 20 points off the Bearkats' 20 turnovers. The Horned Frogs out-scored the Bearkats 22-14 in the paint.
Led by Thomas with 12 rebounds, Sam Houston pulled down 44 boards while TCU had 46.
After TCU held an early lead, Jasmine Johnson tied the game 11-11 with a jumper. The Bearkats roared into the lead with a 20-12 run as Zoe Tucker gave SHSU its largest lead of 31-23 with a jumper at the 1:40 mark in the first half, a margin the Kats took into the locker room at intermission.
Angela Beadle gave Sam Houston its largest halftime lead, 34-27, early in the second half. Natalie Ventess completed the TCU comeback, tying the game for the first time since early in the first period 38-38 with a basket at the 9:44 mark.
Sam Houston hit only 17-of-63 for 27 percent from the floor including a 4-of-24 performance from beyond the three-point line. The Bearkats' pressure defense allowed TCU only 30 percent shooting as the Frogs hit 16-of-53.
Sam Houston State will play host to South Alabama at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum.
