Houston women’s basketball unable to overcome size of No. 12 TCU in rematch loss

Attacking No. 12 TCU’s size was the focus for coach Matthew Mitchell and Houston women’s basketball, and it did so by drawing 25 trips to the free throw line. 

But those weren’t enough to cash in a winning effort, as the Cougars fell 72-50 to the Horned Frogs Wednesday night at Fertitta Center.

Losing the rebounding battle 49-41 made up a big part of that inability, with 16 TCU offensive boards leading to 21 second chance points.

Finding a rhythm offensively was the other mounting struggle for Houston, as it began shooting 3-for-7 before missing its final 10 shots of the first quarter. 

It was the start of a game-high 8:36-long drought from the floor before redshirt senior guard Kyndall Hunter’s right-corner triple at 7:16 in the second quarter.

Despite the Cougars making 20 free throws to lead the attack, they were more than their makes from the floor for the entire night as they went just 14-for-60. 

“We talked about it at halftime, you have to get in there and score quick and attack the basket quick,” Mitchell said. “We did a great job of attacking and using great layup techniques to draw the foul.”

Those attacks weren’t enough, however, to outlast the Horned Frog graduate combo of guard Olivia Miles and forward Marta Suarez, who combined for 39 points while knocking down eight 3-pointers as one of the nation’s top scoring duos.

With 15 second-half points, Hunter recorded her fourth 20-point performance of the season, knocking down the Cougars’ two lone triples while going a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line.

“She did a good job of staying on the attack tonight,” Mitchell said of Hunter. “Made some good decisions and was aggressive.”

Meanwhile, senior guard TK Pitts, who had her sixth double-digit rebounding performance of the season, hauled in 11 boards including five offensively to go with her three steals.

For Pitts and Hunter, they’ll enter their final three-game stretch in college as part of a foundational senior class for Mitchell’s rebuild.

“I’m appreciative of them, they will be a group that will always be known as the first one,” Mitchell said. “We’re gonna work really hard down the stretch to get some victories for these seniors, and I’m really motivated to get that done.”

For the 7-19 Cougars, that final stretch begins Saturday, Feb. 21, at 3 p.m. against Arizona State at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe, the first leg of a two-game road trip.