Tulsa Captures 67-62 Win Over Wichita State in American Athletic Conference Opener

Saturday, December 30

Wichita, Kan.

2:00 pm

Tulsa

7-7, 1-0

Wichita State

5-10, 0-1

Tulsa

Wichita State

Tulsa Captures 67-62 Win Over Wichita State in American Athletic Conference Opener

12/30/2017 4:14:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Game Box (.pdf) | Game Box (html) | Season Stats (.pdf)

Kendrian Elliott, Alexis Gaulden and Rebecca Lescay all scored in double figures to lead Tulsa to a 67-62 win over Wichita State in the American Athletic Conference opener on Saturday afternoon at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan. TU moved to 7-7 on the season and 1-0 in The American, while WSU fell to 5-10 overall and 0-1 in the league.

"We'll take the win, especially on the road," Head Coach Matilda Mossman said. "We had a 16-point lead and Wichita didn't' quit. Rebecca came to the rescue off the bench and got her career high and shot a good percentage. We keep having a different combination on the floor at the end of the game, which tells me we have a lot of capable players, it's just a matter of who matches up best in each game."

Elliott and Gaulden each had a team-best 14 points, while Lescay added a career-high 12 points, and Erika Wakefield and Crystal Polk both had eight points. Shug Dickson and Polk both pulled down a team-high seven rebounds, while Elliott and Tyjae' Scales each added six boards.

Tulsa had a 16-point lead, 53-37, with just 28-seconds remaining to play in the third quarter and a 53-39 advantage with one frame remaining, but Wichita State went on a 9-1 run to start the final quarter to pull to within six, 54-48, at the 7:18 mark. WSU continued to inch closer, coming to within two, 59-57, at the 2:31 mark, but that was as close as the Shockers would get as Tulsa held on for a five-point victory, 67-62.

Wakefield had five assists to tie Ashley Clark (2012-16) on the Tulsa Career Chart for assists with 277. She needs seven more to tie Kelsee Grovey (2012-16) who is in sixth place with 284.

There were three tied score and eight lead changes in the tightly contested game, with Tulsa having a game-high 16-point lead, while WSU led by two at one point.

Wichita State had a 42-40 lead in rebounds, an 8-6 advantage in steals and a 4-3 edge in blocks, while Tulsa had an 11-10 lead in assists.

Tulsa shot 40-percent from the field, 25-percent from three-point range and 77-percent from the free throw line, while Wichita State shot 38-percent from the field, nine-percent from behind the arc and 75-percent from the charity stripe.

Both teams got off to a slow start, as Dickson was the first to find the basket for either team at the 8:00 minute mark and the score was tied at 6-6 with 4:24 left to play in the first frame. Dickson hit the only three of the first quarter to put TU up on top 9-6, and the Golden Hurricane earned a 15-12 advantage to close out the first 10 minutes.

WSU had a 15-13 scoring edge in the second quarter, but Tulsa took a 28-27 lead into the locker room at halftime.

In the third quarter, Tulsa outscored Wichita State, 25-12, shot 75-percent from the field and climbed to a 53-39 lead. TU held the Shockers to just 22-percent from the field, including a scoring drought that lasted 4:16 off the clock while the Hurricane went on a 13-0 run.

WSU was led by Rangie Bessard with 23 points and 11 rebounds, while Angiee Tompkins added 15 points.

Tulsa will return to action on Wednesday, January 3 against Tulane. Game time is set for 11:00 am at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.