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Tulsa
TCU
TCU's Late Free Throws Turns Back Tulsa, 62-58
2/3/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 3, 2001
Tulsa, Oklahoma - TCU's Tricia Payne and Ashanti Nix each converted back-to-back free throws in the final :24 to give the Horned Frogs a 62-58 come-from-behind win over Tulsa at the Donald. W. Reynolds Center on Friday night.
Despite leading for much of the game, Tulsa (5-14, 2-6 WAC) rallied from a nine-point deficit to take a three-point lead with 5:05 left in the contest. After the Horned Frogs (15-4, 7-0 WAC) pulled to within a point on a bucket by Tiffany Evans, Tulsa senior guard Athena Pirpich was fouled as she drove to the basket. Pirpich knocked down both free throws to give the Hurricane a three-point advantage with 2:15 left on the clock. TCU forward Janice Thomas then tied the game with 1:40 to play when she converted a three-point play.
With time winding down, TCU's Tricia Payne gave the Horned Frogs a two-point lead when she drained two free throws with 1:13 to go in the game. After TU forward Carla Morrow missed a lay-up, junior Leela Farr rebounded the miss shot the carom to freshman Candice Brewer who drained a long two-point basket from the right side to tie the game at 58 all with :44 left on the game clock.
Twenty seconds later on a play away from the ball, Brewer and a TCU player got tangled up and fell to the ground. Brewer was whistled for a foul and Payne's two free throws gave the Horned Frogs a 60-58 lead with :24 remaining in the game. After a TU timeout, Tulsa in-bounded the ball on its end of the court and Farr looked to tie the game for the fifth time in the second half, but her shot missed its mark and Pirpich was forced to foul. Nix calmly sank two free throws and TCU hung on for its seventh straight Western Athletic Conference victory.
Tulsa sprinted out of the gates in the first half. The Hurricane ran off a 7-0 run to begin the contest. Sparked by Morrow's 10 first-half points, Tulsa led by as many as 10 points in the opening period. The Horned Frogs closed to within four points twice, but TU held on for a 30-21 halftime lead.
Farr led all scorers with 19 points and tied Thomas for the most rebounds, each with 10. Morrow added 18 points, while Pirpich was the third Hurricane to finish in double figures with 10 points.
For TCU, four players finished in double-digit figures. Payne tallied a team-high 18 points, while Thomas, Jill Sutton and Kati Safaritova each recorded 10 points. The Horned Frogs outrebounded the Hurricane, 46-32, but shot just 33 percent from the field compared to 42 percent for TU.
