FORT WORTH — The No. 17 TCU Horned Frogs got off to a fast start and led wire-to-wire in an 88-46 win over Sam Houston on Sunday night at Schollmaier Arena.
TCU (2-0), the reigning Big 12 champion, won its 26th straight game on its home court, avenging a loss to the Bearkats (1-1) in SHSU's last trip to Fort Worth in 2022.
Fanta Kone and Aysia Ward-Strong each reached double figures with 13 and 10 points apiece, respectively, but the Kats ultimately shot just 28.6 percent from the field as a team and only made it to the foul line nine times. Meanwhile, the Frogs shot at a 58.3 percent clip, canning 10 3-point buckets and owning a 54-20 advantage in the paint.
The Horned Frogs opened the game on a 14-0 run in the game's first five minutes before the Kats were able to get on the scoreboard on a pair of breakaway layups from Aysia Ward-Strong. But TCU worked around nine first-quarter turnovers with a strong shooting effort in the opening period, building a 22-8 lead after hitting 60 percent of its shots from the floor.
TCU continued to build that lead, pushing it to 18 in the second quarter before Fanta Kone went on her own 8-0 run within a minute of gametime, drawing SHSU back to 26-16; however, the Kats did not close the half well, missing each of their last six shots while the Horned Frogs went on to nail six triples in the half on their way to holding a 44-24 lead at the break.
The teams traded buckets early on in the third quarter before TCU went on a 10-0 run to add to its lead, taking a 64-37 advantage into the final quarter. The Horned Frogs then came out red hot in the fourth quarter, opening the period on a 13-0 run highlighted by back-to-back 3-point buckets from leading scorers Donovyn Hunter (20 pts) and Olivia Miles (22 pts) nearly midway through the frame.
UP NEXT
The Kats will next head to Pine Bluff, Ark., for a game on Wednesday at UAPB. Tipoff is set for 4:00 p.m. It can be viewed on the UAPB Sports Network on YouTube, or fans can listen along on the Bearkat Sports Network with Stephanie Keele on the call from courtside in Pine Bluff.
