Tulsa Women Hold Off SMU 56-54

Saturday, January 2

Reynolds Center

2:00 pm

Tulsa

5-8, 2-0AAC

SMU

5-7, 0-1AAC

SMU

Tulsa

Tulsa Women Hold Off SMU 56-54

1/2/2016 4:45:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Don Tomkalski

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Liesl Spoerl scored 11 of Tulsa's final 15 points en route to a 56-54 victory over the SMU Mustangs Saturday afternoon in front of 346 fans at the Donald W. Reynolds Center. Tulsa improved to 2-0 in league play for the first time since the 2007-08 season and 5-8 overall, while SMU fell to 5-7 and 0-1.

Spoerl and Erika Wakefield combined to score the final 15 points for the Hurricane. With Tulsa trailing 47-41 at the 6:08 mark, Spoerl scored the first of her baskets with 5:35 to play. Wakefield added a layup one minute later to cut Tulsa's deficit to 49-45. Spoerl's layups made the score 50-47, 52-49 and cut the SMU lead to one point, 52-51, at the 1:40 mark with her third straight basket.

Froling's put-back layup moved the Mustangs ahead by three points, 54-51, with 1:18 left in the contest. Spoerl's 10^th point cut the Tulsa deficit to one point again, 54-53, with 0:55 on the clock. It wasn't until 0:19 left that Wakefield's jumper from the free throw area put the Hurricane ahead at 55-54.

A rebound by Kelsee Grovey after an SMU miss gave the Hurricane the ball with 0:11 to play. Spoerl then made the first of two free throws to give Tulsa a two-point lead, as SMU's final heave attempting to win the game fell short as the Hurricane captured a 56-54 victory.

"Erika was huge on that bucket she hit to give us the lead, and Liesl probably had more points in the least amount of minutes played than anyone I know," said Tulsa Head Coach Matilda Mossman. "Our game plan was to attack the basket and that is what Liesl did and she got layups. She was unbelievable in taking her girl off the dribble and she took advantage of what they gave her."

Grovey led four players in double-figures for Tulsa with 13 points, while Crystal Polk added 12, Spoerl 11 and Wakefield 10 points. Spoerl's 11 points came in 11 minutes off the bench for the Hurricane. Froling and McKenzie Adams had 17 points apiece to lead the Mustangs, while Froling also added 15 rebounds.

Despite a huge size disadvantage, Tulsa was only out-rebounded by two boards, 48-46, and outscored the Mustangs in the paint 28 to 18. SMU's starting frontcourt measured 6'5", 6'3" and 6'2", compared to 6'2", 5'11" and 5'11" for Tulsa.

After SMU tied the game 25-25 on two early free throws in the second half, the Hurricane held a lead, ranging from one to five points, for most of the third period. The Mustangs took a 41-39 lead on an Adams' three-pointer with 0:24 left in the third quarter and held that lead at the break.

SMU outscored Tulsa 6-2 in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter to take a 47-41 lead at the 6:08 mark, before the Hurricane would outscore the Mustangs 15-7 the rest of the way for the win.

Tulsa scored the game's first two points on a Grovey jumper and held the lead for most of the first period, a quarter that saw the game tied four times. SMU took an 11-10 lead, but Tulsa retook the lead at 13-11 to close out the first 10 minutes.

In the second quarter, Tulsa scored the final five points after trailing 23-20 to take a 25-23 lead into halftime. Grovey knocked down a three-pointer at the 1:36 mark, while Crystal Polk had a put-back layup as time expired.

The game was tied eight times in the first half with six lead changes. Grovey had a game-high 11 first-half points, while Adams led the Mustangs with 10 points.

Tulsa will play its next three games on the road beginning with the No.1-ranked UConn Huskies, Wednesday, Jan. 6. Tulsa follows that with games at Temple (Jan. 8) and Memphis (Jan. 10). The Hurricane returns to the Reynolds Center on Jan. 13 to host the Cincinnati Bearcats.