TCU women get by Kansas State for Big 12 victory

All season, TCU women’s basketball senior guard Jayde Woods has been the grit and the glue that’s held the Horned Frogs together in some of their most challenging moments.

That was never more evident than the final two minutes Saturday afternoon as Woods saved the day for TCU on both ends of the floor in a 65-61 victory over Kansas State at Schollmaier Arena

The Horned Frogs shot a season-low 28.4 percent from the field — just three days after shooting a season-best 53.3 percent in a road win at Oklahoma State — and were out-rebounded by the Wildcats by 22.

But Woods made sure TCU (16-4, 7-2 in the Big 12) wouldn’t be denied with clutch plays that exhibited her toughness and timing that’s been present all year.

“Who you are as a person shows up with who you are as a basketball player,” TCU coach Raegan Pebley said. “Jayde is one of the strongest people I know, have ever known. Her toughness shines through with who she is as a basketball player. She has an incredible will and ability to be present and she plays this game for her teammates.”

Woods made a game-tying 3-pointer with 1 minute, 32 seconds to play after a key offensive rebound by Adeola Akomolafe. Woods was then called for a foul on the opposite end of the floor trying to block out Kansas State 6-5 center Ayoka Lee. Lee made two free throws to give the Wildcats a 61-59 lead with 1:09 left to play.

Woods again made the right play at the right time. She made a perfect pass to a cutting Ella Hellessey down the lane who buried a 10-foot jump shot to tie the game 61-61. Hellessey, who rarely plays, also made two key 3-pointers at the end the first half.

On the ensuing Kansas State possession, Woods came up with a steal when she tipped the ball away near the free-throw line that was pounced on by TCU guard Jaycee Bradley.

TCU took advantage of Woods’ steal when leading scorer Lauren Heard blew by her defender for a layup on the next possession, giving the Horned Frogs a 63-61 lead. Heard, who missed her first 10 shots, led TCU with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

Kansas State (9-10, 3-5) called a timeout with 14.4 seconds left. And Woods again came up big. With Kansas State trying to inbound the basketball, Woods drew an offensive foul when Wildcats guard Christianna Carr knocked her on her back while trying to get open near the free-throw line. Heard then knocked down two free throws to put the game away.

Kansas State coach Jeff Mittie, who coached at TCU for 15 years up until 2014 and remains the Horned Frogs’ all-time winningest coach, made it clear he didn’t particularly care for the call against Carr.

“I think she flops pretty good,” Mittie said. “I don’t particularly like the play … and hers on players who don’t have the ball and aren’t involved in the offense. Asking me if I like the play or not, I’m going to tell you I don’t like it in our game. Is she good at it? Yeah, give her credit. Those are turnovers. Those are timely plays.”

All season, Woods has shown an innate ability to draw off-the-ball offensive fouls. Mittie said he talked to his team about that coming into Saturday.

“Yeah, I think she tried it seven times two games ago and maybe a couple of times in the Oklahoma State game,” Mittie said. “She has a knack for (it). She’s good at it.”

Pebley was asked during her post-game news conference about Mittie saying that Woods “flops pretty good.” Pebley said she had no comment. But she did comment later during a walk-off interview.

“(Opposing coaches see) a lot of time just the fall,” Pebley said. “They want to say she’s flopping, but she takes the contact and she is there on time. That’s because she knows the action and she knows what’s getting ready to happen and she moves herself in the right position for people to have to go around her. But you can’t go through her. That’s the rules.

“Taking a charge is the most unselfish thing you can do in basketball because rarely is that charge from your own matchup. It’s usually a teammate who has gotten beat, you’re trying to help somebody. And you’re trying to stop a play from occurring. That’s just an indicator of who she is as a person and a player.”

Woods finished with 10 points on 3-for-15 shooting and her clutch 3-pointer was the only one she made on six attempts in the game.

TCU is now in sole possession of second place in the Big 12 behind No. 2 Baylor and one game ahead of Texas. TCU is off to its best start in conference play since joining the Big 12 in 2012, including a perfect 4-0 start on the road for the first time since 2000-01 (as a member of the WAC).

TCU honors Kobe Bryant, daughter Gigi

The TCU women’s basketball team warmed up before Saturday’s game against Kansas State wearing shirts honoring Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gigi, who were among nine people who died a week ago in a helicopter crash in California.

The coaches and players also wore the shirts on the bench during the game. The black shirts had GIGI on the front in purple letters with the No. 2 (her uniform number on her basketball team) and on the back had Bryant across the shoulders above the No. 24. Also, TCU coaches and players were featured in a pre-game video talking about the “power of girl dads” and the influence their fathers have had on their athletic journey.

“We just added a little touch on the shirt of Gigi because of being a female basketball player and those other two girls on the Mamba team (who died), they dreamed of (playing college basketball),” TCU coach Pebley said. “This was just moment for us to honor them in another way. The girl dad influence right now is just awesome. We aren’t where we’re at right now today without those people.”