FORT WORTH, Texas – Kansas women’s basketball nearly erased a seven-point deficit to TCU with 40 seconds to play, but fell just short, as the Horned Frogs claimed the 55-52 win on Monday night inside Schollmaier Arena.
Six-unanswered points, capped off by a three-point play from sophomore guard Lauren Aldridge brought the Jayhawks (5-24, 0-18 Big 12) to within a single point with 25 seconds left in the game. After a pair of made free throws from senior guard Zahna Medley of TCU, Aldridge earned yet another and-one opportunity, this time to bring the score level. Aldridge’s free throw missed the mark, and ensuing free throws from sophomore guard Chayla Cheadle after an offensive rebound could not find the bottom of the net and TCU escaped with the victory in the regular-season finale.
Aldridge and freshman guard Kylee Kopatich each tallied 10 points on Monday night, tying for the team-high mark. Aldridge netted double figures for the 19th game of the season, while Kopatich posted her 15th double-digit scoring effort. Freshman forward Tyler Johnson led the Jayhawks in rebounds, pulling down seven boards.
Medley led the Horned Frogs (16-13, 8-10 Big 12) in scoring with a game-high 21 points. Medley shot just 4-of-12 from the field, but was perfect at the charity stripe, sinking all 10 of her attempts. Senior forward Caitlin Diaz netted 14 points on 50 percent shooting and tied freshman center Jordan Moore for a team-high seven rebounds.
Both teams struggled to find a find a rhythm in the early going. Kansas grabbed a 6-2 lead with a three-pointer from junior forward Jada Brown at the 4:20 mark. TCU went nearly eight minutes between made field goals, and two free throws from Medley kept the Horned Frogs from being shut out during the same span. TCU’s six first-quarter points marked its lowest output in the opening frame this season and the Jayhawks’ best defensive effort in the first 10 minutes, as well.
TCU’s first field goal of the second quarter did not come until the 5:35 mark, a three from Medley. The Horned Frogs slowly chipped away at Kansas’ lead for the remainder of the quarter, but the Jayhawks held strong. At the intermission, Kansas held onto a one-point advantage, 19-18.
The two teams wrestled the lead back and forth early on in the third period, with six-straight baskets resulting in a lead change. A steal and fast-break layup from freshman guard Aisia Robertson broke the streak and pushed Kansas’ advantage to three points. A 7-2 scoring run on three-consecutive field goals later in the quarter grew the Jayhawks’ lead to seven points and forced TCU head coach Raegan Pebley to call a timeout with 1:38 left in the period. The Horned Frogs locked in after, scoring the final six points of the quarter to bring the game back within one point.
Neither team put points on the scoreboard for the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, before another three-ball from Medley turned the game back in TCU’s favor. The Horned Frogs put in six-unanswered points before free throws from Johnson at the 5:20 mark ended the cold spell. Just over a minute later, Johnson connected on her third field goal of the night to pull the Jayhawks to within a point.
With less than 50 seconds left in the contest, Medley sank two free throws to put TCU up by seven. Kansas continued to fight, and battled back to within one point again with five-straight points from Aldridge. The Jayhawks took three trips to the free throw line with the chance to tie the game, but missed the mark on each of them. Redshirt junior guard Timeka O’Neal launched a three-pointer just before the buzzer with the chance to force overtime, but the shot fell short, giving TCU the 55-52 win.
— KU Athletics —