TCU women's basketball team returns to the court with 4 walk-ons
FORT WORTH, Texas - Texas Christian University’s women’s basketball team returned to the court for the first time since forfeiting two games with four new players suiting up.
TCU took a nail-biting victory over the University of Central Florida Tuesday night at Schollmaier Arena.
MORE: TCU Horned Frogs News
The Horned Frogs were forced to forfeit games against Kansas State and Iowa State last week after injuries and illness cut their roster short.
In an effort to fix the problem, the team held open tryouts at the end of last week.
Now, guards Piper Davis, Ella Hamlin, and Mekhayia Moore are on the team, along with dual-sport athlete Sarah Sylvester.
Hamlin is a freshman nursing student from Granbury. Her dad made the drive to Fort Worth Tuesday to watch his daughter suit up in her first collegiate game.
"Ella has been playing since she was in third grade, but she decided not to play in college because she wanted to go to TCU and be in the nursing program to be a nurse," he said. "To have this opportunity, she has been in the gym ever since last season, and she loves the game of basketball."
Hamlin graduated from Granbury High School last year following a four-year varsity run on the basketball team, where she was crowned offensive MVP of the district twice.
Her former Lady Pirates teammates were also in attendance Tuesday along with her former coach, Alan Thorpe.
"She was a coach’s dream," he said. "You get those players every now and then. She was one of them."
Freshman Piper Davis and sophomore Mekhayia Moore played on their varsity teams in high school and are both state champs.
Davis led her Idaho high school to a 5A state title.
Moore is from Brownsboro, Texas, near Tyler. In 2022, she was awarded MVP at the championship game.
Also new to the team is now-TCU dual sports star Sarah Sylvester. The 6’3" sophomore is on the TCU volleyball team and also played basketball at her high school in Michigan.
TCU volleyball player walks onto basketball team amid rash of injuries
TCU basketball team held open tryouts last week after the Horned Frogs were forced to forfeit games because they couldn't field a team.
Horned Frog fans were cheering extra loud Tuesday for the student athletes now able to take the court again.
"They’ve had a lot of injuries and problems, but they are a good team. A good bunch of girls," said TCU alumni Brent English. "I want to see them win."
The team has 10 more games this season.
Last week’s forfeits won’t count against the team’s overall record, but they will likely impact their conference standing. TCU drops to 1-6 in the Big 12.
The Horned Frogs haven’t made it to the NCAA tournament since 2010.
It looked like that drought may have changed this year with the team’s promising start to the season.
Mark Campbell took over as head coach, leading the team to a 14-0 start before the injuries began to pile up.