Tulsa Women’s Basketball vs. Kansas State Preview

Monday, November 14

Manhattan, Kan.

TBA

Tulsa

Kansas State

Tulsa Women’s Basketball vs. Kansas State Preview

11/13/2016 5:32:00 PM | Women's Basketball

By: Stephanie Hall

Monday, November 14 ~ 7:00 pm Central ~ Bramlage Coliseum ~ Manhattan, Kan.

Game Notes: Tulsa

Radio: TU's regular season games can be heard on CHROME 93.5 FM and KWTU 88.7 FM HD2, as well as online on TulsaHurricane.com. Brandon Hart calls play-by-play.

Video: Watch Live on ESPN3

Live Stats: Click Here

Rosters: Tulsa ~ Kansas State

2016-17 Season Stats: Tulsa

Tulsa Facebook: TulsaHurricane ~ TulsaWBasketball

Tulsa Twitter: TulsaHurricane ~ TUWBasketball

Kansas State Twitter: K-State WBB

Tulsa Instagram: TulsaHurricanePics ~ TulsaWBB

Kansas State Instagram: K-State WBB

The Coaches
Tulsa: Matilda Mossman (Western Kentucky, 1979), 6th Year
Career Record: 220-174 (14 years)
Record at Tulsa: 73-81 (6 years)

Kansas State: Jeff Mittie (Missouri Western, 1989), 3rd Year
Career Record: 493-261 (25 years)
Record at Kansas State: 39-27 (3 years)

Tulsa's Probable Starters
F          00       Kendrian Elliott, 6-2, Fr.-HS, Wichita, Kan., 11.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.0 bpg
G          3          Erika Wakefield, 5-4, Jr.-2L, Moore, Okla., 21.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.0 apg
G          10       Alexis Gaulden, 5-8, Fr.-HS, Broken Arrow, Okla., 8.0 ppg, 4.0 apg
G          13       Ashley Hughes, 5-7, Sr.-3L, Sulphur, Okla., 7.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 2.0 apg
F          35       Liesl Spoerl, 6-1, Jr.-2L, Tulsa, Okla., 17.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.0 spg

Kansas State's Probable Starters
G          10       Kayla Goth, 6-0, So., DeForest, Wis., 23.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 3.0 spg
F          11       Peyton Williams, 6-3, Fr., Topeka, Kan., 15.0 ppg, 12.0 rpg
C          22       Breanna Lewis, 6-5, Sr., Milwaukee, Wis., 6.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 3.0 bpg
G          24       Kindred Wesemann, 5-7, Sr., Pleasant Hill, Mo., 11.0 ppg, 5.0 spg
F          50       Shaelyn Martin, 6-1, Jr., Salina, Kan., 2.0 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 9.0 apg

In the Last Game
     Tulsa's Erika Wakefield, Liesl Spoerl and Kendrian Elliott all scored in double figures with 21, 17 and 11 points, respectively. Spoerl had a team-best eight rebounds and Wakefield added seven boards. TU shot 51-percent from the field.

Scouting the Opponent
     Kansas State earned an 83-33 win over Chicago State in their season opener. Kayla Goth had a team-best 23 points, while Peyton Williams added 15 points and a team-best 12 rebounds. Kindred Wesemann and Kaylee Page also scored in double figures with 11 and 10 points each. The Wildcats shot 50-percent from the field, including 40-percent from behind the arc, but were just 65-percent from the free throw line.

In the Last Meeting
     Tulsa and Kansas State have met three times on the women's basketball court with the Wildcats earning all three wins. KSU picked up a 75-67 win last season in Tulsa to start the season.

In Exhibition
     Four players averaged double-digits during the two exhibition games, including a team-best 14.0 points per game by freshman Kendrian Elliott. Classmate Shug Dickson added 13.0 ppg, while junior Erika Wakefield totaled 12.0 ppg and senior Liesl Spoerl added 11.0 ppg. Elliott also had a team-high 11.0 rebounds per game and four blocks, while Wakefield recorded nine steals and eight assists.

On the Bench
     The Golden Hurricane returns eight letterwinners, including two starters, and one squad member, and welcomes five newcomers this season. The roster features three seniors - Ashley Hughes, Jessica Pongonis and Teanna Reid; three juniors - Ebony Parker, Liesl Spoerl and Erika Wakefield; three sophomores - Tatyana Perez, Crystal Polk and Tyjae' Scales; and five freshmen - Jasmine Butler, Shug Dickson, Kendrian Elliott, Alexis Gaulden and Addison Richards.

Returning Starters
     Tulsa returns two starters from last season, including junior Erika Wakefield and sophomore Tyjae' Scales. Wakefield averaged 8.7 points, 3.0 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game, while Scales posted 2.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.

Hitting Their Mark
     Junior Liesl Spoerl and sophomores Crystal Polk and Tyjae' Scales hit their marks last season, boasting the three best field goal percentages on the team in 2015-16. Polk posted a 48.9 percent clip (64-131), while Spoerl has a 48.7 field goal percentage (37-76), and Scales had a 48.0 percentage (24-50).

Parker for Three
     Tulsa junior-transfer Ebony Parker knocked down an NJCAA Division I record 144 three-point shots last season. In comparison, then TU senior Kelsee Grovey had a team-best 68 three's last season and 233 in her career. The most in a single season at Tulsa was 77 by Athena Pirpich (2000-01), while Grovey's 233 career three's is a school best.

Hurricane Picked Ninth in The American Preseason Coaches' Poll
     In the American Athletic Conference coaches' poll, UConn was predicted to win the 2016-17 American Athletic Conference Championship, while Temple was second and USF third. Tulane, SMU, East Carolina, Memphis, UCF, Tulsa, Cincinnati and Houston round out the poll.

In Tulsa's Top 10
     Three current Tulsa women's basketball players have earned their way into Tulsa's Top 10 career lists.
- Ashley Hughes is second in free throw percentage with a .861 clip (31 of 36)
- Crystal Polk is ninth in field goal percentage with a .481 clip (64 of 133)
- Teanna Reid is eighth in three-point field goal percentage with a .363 clip (61 of 168)

Mossman Has 220 Career Wins
     Matilda Mossman reached the 200-win milestone as Tulsa captured a 70-61 win over UCF on Jan. 31, 2015. Mossman had 67 wins at Arkansas, 80 wins at Kansas State and currently 73 wins at TU for 220 career victories.

UConn to Host American Championship
     UConn will host the 2016 American Athletic Conference Championship at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., from March 3-6.

13 Opponents in 2016 Postseason
     Thirteen of Tulsa's opponents played in the postseason in 2015-16, including NCAA teams BYU, Kansas State, Oklahoma, UConn and USF; WNIT teams Arkansas State, Little Rock, Memphis, Saint Louis, South Dakota, Temple and Tulane; and WBI participant New Mexico.

The Non-Conference Slate
     Tulsa announced the 13-game non-conference schedule, which features a potential eight games against 2016 postseason teams, five home contests, including games against Arkansas and the 2016 WNIT Champions South Dakota, and a trip to Albuquerque, N.M., for the UNM Thanksgiving Classic. All 14 of TU's potential non-conference opponents finished last year with double-digit wins, while eight teams played in the postseason.

The League Opponents
     Tulsa will host 11-time National Champion UConn, as well as three other teams that played in the postseason, in American Athletic Conference action. Five teams in The American advanced to postseason play last year, as UConn and USF played in the NCAA Tournament, and Memphis, Temple and Tulane participated in the Women's National Invitation Tournament. (Tulsa will not host Tulane at home this season.)

Tulsa Women's Hoops to Have 10 Games Broadcast Live
     The American Athletic Conference announced that four Tulsa women's basketball games will be produced and distributed live by The American Digital Network (ADN) and will air on TheAmerican.org/dn free of charge, while three additional games will be carried on ESPN3, two will be on the SNY Network and one will be on ESPNU.