Lara Somfai Posts Double-Double as No. 15 TCU Routs Oral Roberts 99-43 in Season Opener

FORT WORTH, Texas. Nine players made their TCU debuts on Tuesday night, and by the end of the first quarter the opener already felt settled. No. 15 TCU closed the first 10 minutes on an 18-1 run, held Oral Roberts to six points in the third quarter and rolled to a 99-43 win on Nov. 3 at Schollmaier Arena.

Lara Somfai led the Horned Frogs with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Lanie Grant and Camille Williams scored 12 apiece, Jadyn Wooten added 10 points and eight assists, and Clara Bielefeld set career highs with six points, 11 rebounds and six assists. TCU opened 1-0 and stretched its home winning streak to 45 games, the longest active streak in the country, according to TCU Athletics. Oral Roberts fell to 0-1.

Here is the official box score (opens in a new tab), TCU's recap (opens in a new tab) and the AP recap (opens in a new tab).

Grant lights the fuse

Grant set the tone early. The junior guard scored nine points in the first quarter, according to the AP, and five straight points from Grant helped spark the 18-1 run that closed the period, per TCU. The Frogs shot 65 percent in the first 10 minutes while Oral Roberts shot 25 percent, the AP reported, and TCU led 27-9 after one.

Grant cooled off after the opening burst but still finished with 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting, two 3-pointers, a perfect 2 of 2 at the line and four assists in 26 minutes. According to TCU, Grant and Bielefeld each finished with a plus-minus of +40.

The second quarter belonged to the frontcourt. Somfai and Clara Silva accounted for nine of TCU's first 11 points in the period, and a 9-0 run pushed the lead to 40-12 with 4:09 left in the half. Somfai had 10 points by halftime, according to the AP, and TCU went to the break ahead 46-19.

The 19-point first half was a milestone of sorts. According to the school, it was the 25th time a defense coached by Mark Campbell has held an opponent to 20 points or fewer in a half.

A 31-6 third quarter

Whatever hope Oral Roberts had of a second-half push disappeared quickly. TCU won the third quarter 31-6, and the school noted two separate runs of more than 10 unanswered points in the period. Jessie-May Hall scored seven of Hall's nine points in the quarter, and Bella Hines hit a 3-pointer with 3:15 left in the third that pushed the lead to 50, per the AP.

TCU led 77-25 after three quarters. The Golden Eagles found more offense in the fourth, scoring 18 points, their best quarter of the night, but TCU kept the margin around 50 for most of the second half, according to the school. The final gap was 56.

Somfai and a new-look supporting cast

Somfai, a 6-foot-3 sophomore forward, made 7 of 16 shots and grabbed four offensive rebounds on the way to the eighth double-double of Somfai's career, according to TCU. The 17 points were two shy of a career high.

The bigger story might have been the newcomers. Hall became the first true freshman to start a season opener for TCU since 2016, per the school, and went 4 of 4 from the field with five rebounds and two steals. Williams scored 12 in 18 minutes off the bench, making 3 of 4 shots and 2 of 3 from deep, and added two blocks. Laura Vilcinskas made all three shots for eight points and five rebounds in 10 minutes, and Sarah Portlock scored six with three rebounds in 11 minutes. All four made their collegiate debuts.

Silva, meanwhile, made a 39th consecutive start, per TCU, and finished with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting, five rebounds and two blocks.

Sharing the ball

TCU's passing stood out as much as its scoring. The Frogs assisted on 26 of their 35 baskets, a total tied for the fourth-most in a game under Campbell, according to TCU. Wooten had eight assists, while Bielefeld and Hines had six each. The school said it was the first time three Frogs reached six assists in the same game.

Hines was a spark in 16 minutes, scoring eight points on 3-of-8 shooting with two 3-pointers to go with the six assists. Grant, Williams and Hines each made two 3s, and Avery Hjelmstad added one more off the bench. Wooten, who made 4 of 8 shots and came up with two steals, turned the ball over just once while running the offense.

Bielefeld's line was the most complete of the night: six points on 4-of-4 free throw shooting, 11 rebounds and six assists in 22 minutes, all career highs. Wooten's game was the 19th of Wooten's career with at least 10 points and five assists, per TCU.

The depth showed up everywhere. Ten of the 11 Frogs who played scored at least six points, and nobody logged more than 26 minutes. TCU's bench scored 43 points, and the AP noted the Frogs' reserves had outscored Oral Roberts' reserves by 16 in the first half alone.

TCU shot 53 percent from the field (35 of 66), made 10 of 28 from 3-point range and went 19 of 23 at the free throw line. The rebounding margin was enormous: 53-19, with 20 of TCU's boards coming on the offensive glass. Oral Roberts turned the ball over 16 times to TCU's 12, and both teams came up with seven steals.

Oral Roberts shot 28 percent (16 of 57) and 6 of 25 from deep. The Golden Eagles' starters went 10 of 46, according to the AP, while the reserves made 6 of 11. Aliyah Duval was the bright spot off the bench, scoring a team-high 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range, in 23 minutes. Kayten Donley added 13 points and four rebounds in 35 minutes, getting to the line eight times. Keelie Kronberger went 1 of 11, and Kaylee Ward was 1 of 10 but handed out four assists.

Aubrey Hishaw scored seven points on 3-of-10 shooting with four fouls in 21 minutes, and Gentry Baldwin played 30 minutes with two points and two steals. The Golden Eagles finished with 11 assists, made only 5 of 11 free throws and grabbed just seven offensive rebounds, a big reason the possession battle tilted so far toward TCU.

Oral Roberts' next game was at home against Cameron on Friday, Nov. 6.

What it means

The win extended several TCU streaks. Beyond the 45 straight home wins, which the school said is tied for the 25th-longest run in Division I women's basketball history, the Frogs have won 37 straight nonconference home games dating to December 2022 and 14 straight season openers. TCU is now 35-16 all-time in openers and leads the series with Oral Roberts 8-4.

The 56-point margin was the second-largest season-opening win over a Division I opponent in program history, according to TCU, and the 99 points were the fourth-most the Frogs have scored in an opener. Under Campbell, now in a fourth season at TCU, the Frogs are 38-2 in nonconference games, 35-0 in nonconference home games and 43-0 when scoring at least 80 points.

TCU hosted Le Moyne two nights later, on Thursday, Nov. 5.

The closing take

Season openers against mid-majors rarely tell you much, but this one said a lot about how TCU plans to play. Nine new faces, 26 assists, 20 offensive rebounds and nobody over 26 minutes. Somfai gave the Frogs a reliable interior anchor, Grant provided the early spark, and the newcomers made it clear the rotation goes deep. The Frogs made a 56-point win look routine.

Sources: ESPN, AP, TCU Athletics (gofrogs.com).

Photo: TCU Athletics.