FORT WORTH, Texas – Seventeenth-ranked Texas Christian University (TCU) placed five players in double figures as opposed to the North Carolina A&T women's basketball team not placing one player in double figures as TCU defeated the Aggies 82-43 at the Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena Thursday evening.
Friday marked the second straight game the Aggies had to face a Big 12 opponent after A&T lost to Texas Tech in Monday's season opener. The two Big 12 defeats dropped the Aggies to 0-2 on the season as they head to New Mexico to face the New Mexico Lobos on Sunday at 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). The Lobos play out of the Mountain West Conference, making them the first non-Power Four team the Aggies have faced this season.
Fifth-year senior Chaniya Clark led the Aggies with eight points. She only had one rebound after running into foul trouble early, picking up two fouls in the first quarter. Marta Suárez led the Horned Frogs with 19 points on 7-for-11 shooting. The Horned Frogs shot 47.1 percent from the floor for the game, and out-rebounded the Aggies 47-31. It helped the Horned Frogs outscore the Aggies 19-5 in second-chance points. The Power Four Horned Frogs also outscored the Aggies 38-20 in the paint.
TCU scored the game's first six points before Clark took a pass from junior Paris Locke to score on a layup. TCU scored the next nine points to take a 15-2 lead before A&T got going. The Aggies outscored the Horned Frogs 8-2 to end the first quarter as graduate guard Jordan Brown hit a 3-pointer and sophomore Elliott Jessup scored on a transition layup to end the period.
A&T got to within five in the second period as Brown drove to the basket and scored. But TCU went on a 10-2 run to take a 27-14 lead with 4 ½ minutes remaining in the first half. After a Clark free throw, Olivia Miles hit a 3-pointer to take a 33-17 lead with three minutes to play in the first half. The Horned Frogs took their biggest lead of the first half on a Veronica Sheffey jump shot, giving TCU a 39-19 lead with 90 seconds to play in the first half. A Locke free throw and a 3-pointer from A&T freshman forward Anaya Karriem sent the Aggies into the locker room trailing 39-23.
Taylor Bigsby gave TCU a 54-28 lead with four minutes to go in the third quarter. TCU would then go on to outscore the Aggies 23-11 in the fourth quarter to put an exclamation point on its victory. Locke added seven points, seven rebounds and three points for the Aggies.
