BYU Cougars forward Lauren Gustin looks to make a play during the Cougars’ 68-58 loss to the TCU Horned Frogs on Wednesday, February 21, 2024, at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah.
BYU Photo
TCU ran away from BYU in the second half, earning a 68-58 victory in Provo Wednesday night to make what had been a close game feel much different when the final buzzer sounded.
“This was one that we dropped and we should not have,” BYU coach Amber Whiting said. “There’s a lot of things that we got to address this week, and we got to do it fast.”
One thing the Cougars will have to address is their 58 points, marking the school’s lowest output in the Marriott Center this season.
After a back and forth first half, TCU took control in the third quarter, outpacing BYU by nine points to take over the game.
From there, the Horned Frogs made enough plays down the stretch to earn just their second Big 12 road victory since 2021.
“BYU is really skilled,” TCU coach Mark Campbell said. “They had some great looks and we were fortunate that they missed those. But … to slow these guys down, it’s hard. … They’re really balanced and we’re fortunate to find a way and held them below 60.”
BYU met TCU in its inaugural Big 12 contest in December, losing to the nationally ranked and unbeaten Horned Frogs on the road by 14 to close out the calendar year.
Nearly two months later, TCU limped into Provo a much different team, having won just two games since its initial victory over the Cougars.
Injuries derailed an otherwise promising season for the Horned Frogs, ultimately forcing the school to forfeit a pair of games and hold open tryouts where they added four walk-ons.
“It’s been a tough stretch for us and (our players have) been resilient and they've continued to fight and show up each day and get better,” Campbell said. “We’ve had a lot of adversity. … For this group to keep fighting, it’s a special group in that locker room.”
Though less dramatic, the Cougars’ season has had its share of ups and downs as well as they have navigated a new league following 12 years in the West Coast Conference.
Just over a month into the season, the program saw junior guard Nani Falatea step away for undisclosed reasons after seeing action in just three contests due to a nagging injury that remains as much a mystery as what caused her premature departure.
With Falatea’s injury and subsequent exit, BYU has been forced to lean more heavily on freshman guards Kailey Woolston and Amari Whiting as they have learned on the fly.
The Cougars have also relied a great deal on the production of senior forward Lauren Gustin, who has delivered incredible performances week in and week out and ultimately broke the school’s 44-year-old rebounding record in January.
The Boise native came into Wednesday’s contest averaging a double-double of 17.1 points and 15.4 rebounds, good for the best boarding average in the nation by a wide margin.
Despite Gustin’s impressive numbers, the Cougars have faced a steep learning curve in the Big 12, and lost their initial four games of conference play.
“Every team in this conference is good,” Coach Whiting said. “We just have to realize that…ny given night, any team can win and that’s what I try to teach my women.”
BYU earned its first Big 12 victory in a home contest over fellow conference newcomer Cincinnati before ultimately reaching one of its highest points of the season early in February with a double-digit win over then-No. 18 Baylor to pick up its first of three straight wins.
“When we beat Baylor … no one thought we could do that,” Whiting said. “I feel like every night out you just got to bring your best game so that you (have) your best chance to win.”
The Cougars’ three-game win streak was snapped by Kansas last week before a second consecutive defeat Wednesday against TCU.
“They’re going through (adversity),” Whiting said of the Horned Frogs, “but also that lets them play a little bit more free; shoot the ball free; you know, they got nothing to lose.”
And shoot freely they did, making seven shots from beyond the arc in each half. The Horned Frogs used two 3s at the end of the second quarter to end the first half on a 6-0 run and take a two-point lead into the locker room despite trailing BYU for the majority of the first two periods.
TCU then proceeded to score 21 points in the third quarter and extended its lead to as many as 17.
BYU struggled to keep up with its visitors’ hot shooting, finishing the night at 28.6% from deep compared to 48.3% for the Horned Frogs.
However, the Cougars managed to cut the lead to seven in the fourth quarter but never could get closer, with TCU having just enough answers to keep BYU at bay.
When the Horned Frogs needed a bucket, they got it from sophomore forward Aaliyah Roberson, who finished the evening with career highs in points and rebounds with 23 and 13, respectively.
After another game went sideways for the Cougars, they remain hopeful they can get back on track.
“When things get tough (and) things get hard, you got to come together,” Whiting said, “and that’s just what we’re going to do.”
BYU will return to the floor Saturday in a road matchup with Iowa State. The Cougars lost to the Cyclones by five in the schools’ first meeting this year.
Saturday’s contest is set to tip off at 5 p.m.