Tulsa Women’s Basketball vs. Oral Roberts
11/16/2016 10:31:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Thursday, November 17 ~ 7:00 pm Central ~ Mabee Center ~ Tulsa, Okla. (at ORU)
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.
Live Stats: Click Here
Rosters: Tulsa ~ Oral Roberts
2016-17 Season Stats: Tulsa ~ Oral Roberts
Tulsa Facebook: TulsaHurricane ~ TulsaWBasketball
Tulsa Twitter: TulsaHurricane ~ TUWBasketball
ORU Twitter: ORU WBB
Tulsa Instagram: TulsaHurricanePics ~ TulsaWBB
ORU Instagram: ORU WBB
The Coaches
Tulsa: Matilda Mossman (Western Kentucky, 1979), 6th Year
Career Record: 220-175 (14 years)
Record at Tulsa: 73-82 (6 years)
Oral Roberts: Misti Cussen (Southern Nazarene, 1993), 5th Year
Career Record: 59-67 (4 years)
Record at ORU: same
Tulsa's Probable Starters
F 00 Kendrian Elliott, 6-2, Fr.-HS, Wichita, Kan., 8.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg
G 3 Erika Wakefield, 5-4, Jr.-2L, Moore, Okla., 18.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.5 apg
G 10 Alexis Gaulden, 5-8, Fr.-HS, Broken Arrow, Okla., 5.5 ppg, 3.5 apg
G 13 Ashley Hughes, 5-7, Sr.-3L, Sulphur, Okla., 5.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.0 apg
F 35 Liesl Spoerl, 6-1, Jr.-2L, Tulsa, Okla., 11.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.0 spg
Oral Roberts' Probable Starters
G 1 Kaylan Mayberry, 5-6, Sr., Tulsa, Okla., 14.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.5 spg
G 11 Lakota Beatty, 5-8, Jr., Anadarko, Okla., 14.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg
G 15 Faith Ihim, 5-10, Jr., Tulsa, Okla., 19.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg
F 22 Jordan Gilbert, 5-10, So., Midwest City, Okla., 1.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg
G 44 Maria Martianez, 6-3, So., Barelona, Spain, 12.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg
In the Last Game
Ebony Parker, Erika Wakefield and Tatyana Perez all scored in double figures, but it wasn't enough as the Tulsa women's basketball team dropped an 82-62 decision to Kansas State on Monday night at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kan.
As a team, TU hit 11 three pointers, compared to KSU's two three-point baskets, while K-State outscored Tulsa in the paint, 60-12.
Scouting the Opponent
Oral Roberts has an 0-2 record this season, falling to Iowa (96-76) and Northwestern (64-55), both on the road. Faith Ihim has a team-best 19.0 ppg, while Kaylan Mayberry and Lakota Beatty both average 14.0 ppg. Maria Martianez has a team-high 7.5 rebounds per game, Beatty has six assists and Mayberry has five steals.
In the Last Meeting
Oral Roberts won the crosstown rivalry game last season, 59-53, at the Reynolds Center. The Golden Eagles have a 31-8 lead in the all-time series.
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.
Tulsa in Postseason
Tulsa has made five postseason appearances, including WNIT bids in 2004, 2005 and 2015, and NCAA bids in 2006 and 2013. TU lost in the first round in 2004 (Memphis), 2005 (Texas A&M) and 2013 (Stanford), but went 1-1 (W, North Carolina State; L, DePaul) in 2006 and 2015 (W, Missouri State; L, Eastern Michigan), for a 2-5 overall mark in postseason play.
TulsaHurricane.com
Keep up with the Tulsa Golden Hurricane women's basketball team by accessing the official University of Tulsa athletic department web site at www.TulsaHurricane.com.
A Hurricane in Tulsa?
The Origination of The University of Tulsa nickname - Golden Hurricane - was created in 1922. A new football coach, Howard Archer came to town and inherited a slew of nicknames dating back to 1895. In the past, Tulsa had been named "Kendallites," "Presbyterians," "Tigers," "Orange and Black," "Tulsans," and of course, "Yellow Jackets." The team started working out in the fall with a new nickname "Yellow Jackets" which was apparently due to the fact that the team was wearing new black and yellow uniforms. The team opened the season and it was apparent that Tulsa was going to have a great year, and trying to seize some publicity for his team, Archer wanted to find a new nickname quickly. After a remark was made in practice one day about "roaring through opponents," and because of their new jersey colors, he thought of "Golden Tornadoes." But a check showed that Georgia Tech already had chosen that tag in 1917. From the tornado, he evolved meteorologically to the hurricane. A few days before the team left for a game against Texas A&M, Archer asked the squad to vote on the name, and thus "Golden Hurricane" was born.
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