The Associated Press

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Sandora Irvin scored 26 points, had 19 rebounds and keyed a second-half comeback to lead Texas Christian to an 85-76 overtime victory over Cincinnati in the Conference USA tournament championship game.

Irvin went 11-of-15 from the field and scored five points in the extra period as the Lady Frogs, the tournament's fifth seed, earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

TCU (19-13) hit six of its eight free throws in the final minute to seal the game.

Irvin, the tournament's most valuable player, tied the score at 71 with 33 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime. K.B. Sharp's last-second shot fell short for the Bearcats (23-7), forcing the extra period.

Irvin, whose tying bucket came on a spin move through the lane, scored eight points in the final 4:15 of regulation.

Candace Baldwin scored 18 for TCU, while Amy Pack finished with 14 and Tiffany Evans had 12 and eight rebounds.

Valerie King led the Bearcats, the tournament's second seed, with 24 points. Leading scorer and rebounder Debbie Merrill added 15 points.

The two teams were tied at 49 with just under 12 minutes left when the Bearcats went on a 12-3 run to take a 61-52 lead.

But Irvin took over inside and carried TCU with some help from Baldwin, who had five points in the final three minutes of regulation.

TCU (19-13)--Evans 3-6 6-7 12, Irvin 11-15 3-6 26, Baldwin 7-13 2-3 18, Shaw 1-6 2-2 5, Payne 1-7 1-2 4, Ortega 0-0 1-2 1, Newton 1-1 1-1 3, Pack 5-6 4-6 14, Gantt 0-0 0-0 0, Wynn 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 30-55 20-29 85.

CINCINNATI (23-7)--Alexander 4-8 4-4 12, Young 1-4 0-0 2, Merrill 6-13 4-4 16, Sharp 4-18 7-13 15, King 7-17 6-6 24, Knoch 0-0 0-0 0, Harvey 3-10 0-0 7, Stevenson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-71 21-27 76.

Halftime-TCU 36, Cincinnati 33. Regulation-TCU 71, Cincinnati 71. 3-Point goals-TCU 5-17 (Baldwin 2-5, Irvin 1-1, Shaw 1-3, Payne 1-7, Evans 0-1), Cincinnati 5-19 (King 4-11, Harvey 1-4, Sharp 0-4). Fouled out-Alexander. Rebounds-TCU 42 (Irvin 19), Cincinnati 35 (Sharp, Merrill 7 each). Assists-TCU 15 (Payne 8), Cincinnati 12 (Sharp 6). Total fouls-TCU 23, Cincinnati 23. A-N/A