January 18, 2024
TCU cancels two games due to injuries; plans to hold tryouts
By Aya Abdeen
Season in peril over player losses
On Wednesday, the Big 12 Conference announced the cancellation of the next two games for the Texas Christian University women’s basketball team due to insufficient available players. The TCU Horned Frogs (14-4, 1-6 Big 12) were scheduled to play No. 7 Kansas State on Jan. 17 and No. 24 Iowa State on Jan. 20.
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According to the conference rules mentioned in the press release, if a member institution cannot field a team, they will forfeit the game unless there are any extraordinary circumstances. As a result, TCU will lose two games, while the Iowa State Cyclones and the Kansas State Wildcats will gain wins in the Big 12 standings.
The Horned Frogs have announced that two of their players will be out for the remainder of the 2023-24 season due to injuries.
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On Tuesday, the team revealed that point guard Jaden Owens, a graduate student, suffered a right knee injury during a game on Saturday. The injury was later diagnosed as a torn ACL and meniscus, which means that Owens will not be able to play for the rest of the season.
Owens played in 17 games for the Horned Frogs and averaged 8.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game. Her average assists per game ranked fifth nationally. Additionally, she was the active Big 12 leader in total assists with 115 throughout the season, which ranked third nationally.
“Though heartbroken to have played my final college basketball game, i am incredibly grateful for the support and love my teammates and coaches have shown me, as well as the treatment i have received from TCU sports medicine,” Owens said in a statement. “The reality that i’ll no longer be able to play with my teammates is devastating. but as the scripture has said, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness: this is just another trial and tribulation along life’s great journey and by no means a goodbye.”
TCU announced that DaiJa Turner, a sophomore forward, will miss the rest of the season as she plans to undergo surgery on her left ankle. She sustained the injury during a team practice and attempted to play through it for two games on January 10 and 13.
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Throughout the season, Turner appeared in 18 games and averaged 2.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 11.5 minutes per game.
“I would give anything to finish this year on the court with my girls,” Turner said in a statement. TCU Women’s basketball is building something special, and being a part of a trailblazing season is one of the greatest moments of my playing career. having the sport I love temporarily taken away is a gutting feeling, but I take solace in knowing better days are ahead while I heal, for “he gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” “
The Horned Frogs are also without graduate student Sedona Prince, a candidate for the Wooden Award, who has a right-hand injury.
TCU is organizing open tryouts for full-time students who are interested in joining the women’s basketball team as a walk-on for the remainder of the season. The tryouts will be held on Thursday and Friday. In the post made on X (formerly known as Twitter), TCU mentioned that the students must have prior high school basketball experience in order to be eligible to join the team.
Written by Aya Abdeen
Aya Abdeen is a student in sports journalism at Arizona State University and has been a contributing writer for The Next since December 2022. She is also a sports reporter for the Sun Devils’ women’s basketball team for The State Press. Her work has also appeared on AZPreps365.