FORT WORTH, Texas — One would be hard-pressed to find a better opening statement to a conference title defense than the one that No. 9 TCU put together on Saturday.
The Horned Frogs’ 77-55 win over Kansas State saw last year’s Big 12 Conference women’s basketball champions shoot 51% from the floor, 38% from the 3-point line and dominate the glass, 43-30. A starting lineup filled with experience, and transfers, put the Wildcats (7-7, 0-1 in Big 12) on their heels after a close first quarter.
The Horned Frogs (13-1, 1-0) pulled away with a tremendous third quarter that put the contest away, as TCU outscored Kansas State, 20-11.
“Really good ball clubs come out at halftime, and they don’t have a letdown, and that’s hard to do,” TCU coach Mark Campbell said. “Our group has been really consistent at that all year.”
Kansas State, which is rebuilding after seeing its veteran-laden team of a year ago move on through eligibility exhaustion or the transfer portal, had few answers for the Horned Frogs. They tried against a starting lineup that is among the top five scoring starting lineups in college basketball.
This screen-and-roll offense is tailor-made for Olivia Miles, who transferred to TCU after seeing what the system did for Hailey Van Lith last season. Miles can shoot, drive, facilitate and score off contact. With college basketball’s officiating change on contact to the basket — think the continuation rule in the NBA — Miles has three straight triple-doubles entering the game.
She had 29 points, eight rebounds and four assists on Saturday. Kansas State tried to defend her by switching on screens and it didn’t work.
“You know, if you make her a passer, we have a lot of scores and shooters around her,” Campbell said. “They switched the pick and roll, and she got to play one on one a lot [against forwards], and she did a heck of a job attacking the basket.”
Marta Suarez, another transfer, has seen her scoring balloon as the off-ball forward. Her scoring average is up six points after a year ago after a standout year at Cal. Clara Silva is this season’s Sedona Prince, but she moves with more fluidity and has a deft passing touch from the top of the free-throw line. Like Suarez, her offensive numbers are up from last season.
Suarez had 20 points and eight rebounds while Silva had a double-double — 14 points and 10 rebounds — as her development accelerates.
“[Kansas State] didn’t have a true, true center, so she had to switch on some actions,” Campbell said of Silva. “She had an undersized four that she had to go to because one of their fours can really shoot it, but she’s so versatile.”
Donovyn Hunter, a holdover from last season, is emerging as the team’s sharpshooter. She wasn’t as potent as in previous games — she only scored seven points — but she shoots 41.4% from the arc, which is up seven percent from a season ago when Madison Conner had that spotlight. Maddie Scherr, who missed all of last season with a back injury, didn’t score on Saturday. But she can impact the game in other ways, including three rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots.
Kansas State head coach Jeff Mittie doesn’t envy the remaining teams that have to come to TCU, where the Horned Frogs are on a 34-game winning streak at Schollmaier Arena.
“Any team coming into here is going to have to pick, you know, because they are so balanced,” Mittie said., “They can hurt you in the post. They can hurt you from the three-point line.”
If there was any quibble, it’s that the Horned Frogs only got two points off their bench in the first three quarters. With an 11-day break coming, the starters will get plenty of rest. Plus, center Kennedy Basham, who shares time with Silva, was out with an ankle injury. Still, Campbell doesn’t care much where the scoring comes from.
“We work hard on sharing the basketball,” Campbell said. “If that comes from the first group, from the bench, I don’t care. We ended up with 20 assists tonight, a few too many turnovers. But you know, I think the hallmark since we’ve been here is that we share the ball. We played a game together and organically, when you do that, wherever the points come from is where they come from.”
When the points come from anywhere, TCU becomes a nearly impossible team to slow down.
