FORT WORTH, Texas – The University of the Incarnate Word women's basketball team left it all on the court against Texas Christian University on Wednesday afternoon. The Cardinals held an eight-point lead (17-9) in the first, which would go to be their largest lead of the game, but ultimately fell 61-55 to the Horned Frogs.

"While we didn't get the final result we would have liked, we're extremely proud of how hard we played and how well we executed the scouting report defensively," said Head Coach Jeff dow. "Granted it's early, but TCU is a team that is projected to make the NCAA Tournament this year. One of our 'Keys to Victory' on our scouting report for TCU was very simple, 'Compete'. And we definitely did that today in every aspect of the game…offense, defense, and rebounding."
 
Aliyah Collins (17) and Nina De Leon Negron (14) led the Cardinal offense. Collins added six assists while De Leon Negron totaled eight rebounds. As a team, UIW beat TCU on the offensive boards with 15 to their 13 and shot 71 percent from the free throw line (12-17).

"Offensively, we only turned it over 11 times (two fewer than TCU), and we were fearless in attacking the basket and getting to the free throw line. Defensively, we held them to 61 points which is their lowest scoring output of the season. We outscored TCU in the 'Points off Turnovers' category which speaks to how well we took care of the ball and that we were able to generate offense from our defense. Plus, in the 'Points in the Paint' category we actually outscored them in the first half and only got outscored by four points for the game. On the boards, we only got outrebounded by two which is encouraging. Given their length and overall size it speaks to how well we competed in the paint and on the boards."
 
The Cardinals came out of the gate hot, stunning the Horned Frogs and scoring seven first-quarter points off TCU turnovers. The strong UIW start continued through the remainder of the first and the Cardinals held a 17-11 lead to end the quarter.
 
UIW's momentum continued into the second quarter as the Cardinals held off the Horned Frogs until four minutes left in the half when TCU took its first lead of the game on a 3-pointer. The Cardinals did not back down as Collins continued to attack the basket and go 4-4 from the free throw line to end the half down three, 29-26. The 26 first-half points from TCU was the lowest-scoring first half of the season for the Horned Frogs.

"To have the lead for over 15 minutes in the first half certainly speaks to how well our team was ready to compete and perform against a team of this magnitude. We limited them to two free throws in the first half. Unfortunately, they got 17 in second half, and 10 alone in the third quarter."
 
De Leon Negron buried herself in the paint and found the bottom of the net to put the Cardinals back within four at 34-30. TCU responded by scoring seven unanswered points to extend the score to 41-30, the largest lead of the game for the Horned Frogs, midway through the third. The Cardinals went scoreless from the field in the final three minutes of the third, but a pair of free throws from Collins brought the score to 46-36.
 
The Cardinals continued to battle in the fourth, outscoring the Horned Frogs 19-15 behind 13 bench points on the day.

"I thought their size and length wore us down in the second half, particularly in the third quarter when they made their run. We weren't able to get to the free throw line with the same regularity that we did in the first half and they did a better job of closing off our driving lanes."
 
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