Sports, Women's Basketball, WVU Sports

WVU women’s basketball team looks to win 8th straight game, visit TCU

FORT WORTH, Texas — Following a 73-53 win at Texas Tech on Wednesday, the No. 24-ranked West Virginia women’s basketball team continues its two-game road trip Saturday, as the Mountaineers square off against TCU.

Opening tip against the Horned Frogs is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Schollmaier Arena. Dan Zangrilli will call the game for the Mountaineer Sports Network from Learfield IMG College. The game can be found on 98.3 FM/1490 AM (WBKE) as well as affiliates across the state, the TuneIn Radio App and WVUSports.com. The game also will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with Ron Thulin and Mike Petersen on the call.

West Virginia (12-2, 6-2 Big 12) and TCU (7-7, 2-7 Big 12) are set to meet on the basketball court for the 20th time. WVU leads the all-time series 14-5, including a 5-3 mark in Fort Worth. The Horned Frogs won four of the last five meetings between the two teams, which includes last year’s series sweep. WVU’s last win against TCU came on Feb. 16, 2019, when the Mountaineers earned a 79-65 victory at the WVU Coliseum.

The Mountaineers extended their win streak to seven games last Wednesday after defeating Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas. With the victory, West Virginia has now won six consecutive Big 12 games for the first time since the 2013-14 season, when the team was crowed the Big 12 regular-season champions.

Redshirt senior guard Kysre Gondrezick continued her senior campaign against the Red Raiders and led WVU in scoring with 24 points. Sophomore forward Esmery Martinez (16 points), junior guard Jasmine Carson (12 points) and junior forward Kari Niblack (10 points) also finished in double figures in Wednesday’s win. Senior center Blessing Ejiofor led the Mountaineers on the glass by hauling in a team-high 10 rebounds.

TCU is coming off an 82-49 loss at No. 9 Baylor on Jan. 26. Guard Lauren Heard led the scoring attack for the Horned Frogs, with 14 points, and hauled in a team-high nine rebounds. Prior to its loss to the Lady Bears, TCU defeated Texas Tech, 61-53, on Jan. 23, in Fort Worth.

Heard leads the Horned Frogs in points (18.0), assists (4.86) and steals (2.0) per game this season, while forward Michelle Berry leads the team in rebounding (7.9 per game). Forward Yummy Morris leads TCU in the blocks department this year, averaging one swat per game.

TCU is led by seventh-year head coach Raegan Pebley, who owns a 124-85 record during her time in Fort Worth. In 18 seasons of coaching, she has amassed a career mark of 280-260.
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