Tulsa Women’s Basketball vs. Memphis Today in The American Quarterfinals

Friday, March 3 ~ 3:00 pm Central ~ Mohegan Sun Arena ~ Uncasville, Conn.

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 Audio: Listen Here

Video: Watch Live on ESPN3.com

Live Stats: Click Here

Rosters: Tulsa ~ Memphis

2016-17 Season Stats: Tulsa ~ Memphis

Tulsa Facebook: TulsaHurricane ~ TulsaWBasketball

Memphis Facebook: Memphis WBB

Tulsa Twitter: TulsaHurricane ~ TUWBasketball

Memphis Twitter: Memphis WBB

Tulsa Instagram: TulsaHurricanePics ~ TulsaWBB

Memphis Instagram: Memphis WBB

The Coaches
Tulsa: Matilda Mossman (Western Kentucky, 1979), 6th Year
Career Record: 228-194 (14 years)
Record at Tulsa: 81-101 (6 years)

Memphis: Melissa McFerrin (Missouri, 1983), 9th Year
Record: 204-201 (13 years)
Record at Memphis: 154-131 (9 years)

Tulsa's Probable Starters
F     00     Kendrian Elliott, 6-2, Fr-HS, Wichita, Kan., 9.1 ppg, 7.9 rpg
G     3       Erika Wakefield, 5-4, Jr-2L, Moore, Okla., 11.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 3.2 apg
G     10     Alexis Gaulden, 5-8, Fr-HS, Broken Arrow, Okla., 7.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg
G     13     Ashley Hughes, 5-7, Sr-3L, Sulphur, Okla., 2.9 ppg, 2.2 rpg
F     22     Jessica Pongoins, 6-1, Sr-1L, Fishers, Ind., 2.2 ppg, 1.4 rpg

Memphis' Probable Starters
G     2       Loysha Morris, 5-9, Sr, Toronto, Canada, 3.5 ppg, 2.2 rpg
G     3       Taylor Williams, 6-1, Sr, Kansas City, Kan., 11.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg
G     5       Brea Elmore, 5-9, Jr, Stone Mountain, Ga., 12.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg
F     10     Cheyenne Creighton, 6-1, Jr, Ontario, Canada, 14.7 ppg, 7.5 rpg
G     15     Taylor Barnes, 5-8, Fr, Memphis, Tenn., 6.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg

In the Last Game
        Ashley Hughes had a career night in her final regular season contest as a Golden Hurricane, giving Tulsa a 78-61 win over Cincinnati on Monday night at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio. Tulsa is now 3-0 in Fifth Third Arena against the Bearcats.
        Hughes had a career-high 18 points and eight assists, and tied her career high of six field goals made and one block, while playing all 40 minutes. Erika Wakefield added 15 points and four assists, Liesl Spoerl tallied 14 points, Tatyana Perez scored 10 and Kendrian Elliott finished just shy of a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds. Hughes, Spoerl and Tyjae' Scales all added five rebounds.

Scouting the Opponent
        Memphis has a 14-15 overall record and concluded regular season American Athletic Conference play with a 7-9 mark. Cheyenne Creighton has a team-leading 14.7 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game, while Brea Elmore and Taylor Williams add 12.7 ppg and 11.8 ppg, respectively.

Against the Opponent
        Tulsa and Memphis met just once this season, with the Golden Hurricane earning a 57-52 at the Donald W. Reynolds Center on January 4. TU owns an 8-7 lead in the all-time series with the Tigers, including a 1-0 mark in neutral site games (an 85-63 win in the First Round of the 2008 Conference USA Tournament).

In the Nation
        Tulsa ranks 69th in the nation in three-point field goals attempted (607), 78th in three-point field goals made (197), 81st in fewest turnovers per game (14.4), 88th in three-point field goals per game (6.8) and 89th in free-throw percentage (72.3).
        Erika Wakefield is 154th in free throw percentage (77.9) and 245th in assist turnover ratio (1.25); Kendrian Elliott ranks 137th in rebounds per game (7.9); and Ebony Parker is 241st in three-point field goals per game (1.82).

Stepping Up
        Ten of Tulsa's 13 players have scored in double figures this season. Erika Wakefield has scored in double figures 19 times, while Tatyana Perez has 10 double-digit contests. Shug Dickson and Kendrian Elliott both have nine double-digit contests, Liesl Spoerl has seven, Ebony Parker has six, Alexis Gaulden has five, Jessica Pongonis has three Crystal Polk has two and Ashley Hughes has one double-figure game.

20+ Scorers
        Kendrian Elliott had a team-leading and personal-best 27 points against East Carolina, while Erika Wakefield had a career-high 25 points at Houston (1-1-17), and Alexis Gaulden tallied a career-high 23 points against Saint Louis (12-15-16). Shug Dickson tallied 22 points at UCF (1-21-17), 21 points against Temple (1-14-17) and #1 UConn (1-17-17), and 20 against SMU (1-28-17) and East Carolina (1-31-17). Wakefield posted 21 points at UMKC (11-11-16), Ebony Parker had 20 points at #19/20 Oklahoma (12-11-16) and Elliott had 20 points against Arkansas State (12-6-16).

Dickson's Scoring Streak
        Shug Dickson was the first freshman in school history (dating back to the 1996-97 season) to score 20+ points in three-straight games. She became the sixth player overall to reach this feat (Taleya Mayberry, Larrissa Williams, Jillian Robbins, Allison Curtin and Lila Osceola did it before her.) and it is the 15th time that someone has scored 20+ points three or more times in a row. Dickson now has five 20+ point games this season.

The Losses that Could Have Been Wins
        In Tulsa's 20 losses this season, the Golden Hurricane has lost 11 of those by single digits, including eight games by two or less baskets. Tulsa fell to Arkansas State, South Dakota and Houston (2-15) by 3 each, Indiana State and UCF both by 4, Tulane, Houston (1-1) and Little Rock by 5 each, Arkansas by 7, Oral Roberts by 8, and Temple by 9.
        TU also had a double-digit lead over four of the opponents before falling in the contests [15-point lead over Little Rock (lost by five), a 14-point lead over Indiana State (lost by four) a 13-point lead over Arkansas State (lost by 3) and a 13-point lead over UCF (lost by 4)].

Shooting the Ball
        Kendrian Elliott has a team-high .492 field goal percentage. Jessica Pongonis is TU's next best shooter with 47.3-percent, followed by Crystal Polk at 42.5-percent. Erika Wakefield and Liesl Spoerl both shoot at a 40.0-percent clip.

Behind the Arc
        Nine of Tulsa players have combined for 197 three-pointers this season, for a 6.8 three-pointers per game average. TU's opponents have hit 144 three's for 5.0 per game. Ebony Parker has a team-best 51 trey's, Tatyana Perez has 37, Alexis Gaulden has 36, Shug Dickson has 26, Ashley Hughes has 14, Addison Richards has 12 and Liesl Spoerl has 11. Erika Wakefield has nine trey's this season, while Jessica Pongonis has one.

Freshmen Making Marks
        Two Tulsa freshmen have already earned a spot on the Tulsa Freshman Single-Season Records list. Addison Richards is currently second in three-point field goal percentage (.414), and Kendrian Elliott is second in blocks (24) and rebounds (205), third in field goal percentage (.492) and fifth in free throw percentage (.769).

In Tulsa's Top 10
        Ashley Hughes is second in free throw percentage in school history with a .871 clip (37 of 42). Crystal Polk is 10th in field goal percentage at 46.4-percent (98-211).

Making Assists
        Junior Erika Wakefield ranks in the top-10 on Tulsa's Career Chart for assists. She currently has 248 assists for eighth place and needs 29 more to tie Ashley Clark (20012-16) who has the No. 7 slot with 277.

Mossman Has 228 Career Wins
        Matilda Mossman has collected 227 career victories, including 67 wins at Arkansas, 80 wins at Kansas State and currently 81 wins at TU.

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.

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 a year ago.

Coaching Barefoot
        The Tulsa coaching staff coached barefoot in the Tulsa-UCF game to help bring recognition to Samaritan's Feet, an organization that is helping to create a world with zero shoeless children. The Golden Hurricane worked with Samaritan's Feet on their trip to the Dominican Republic, handing out over 250 pairs of shoes to children in the DR. For more information on the organization, visit SamaritansFeet.org.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Tulsa Women’s Basketball vs. Memphis Today in The American Quarterfinals

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Players Mentioned

Ashley Clark

Shug Dickson

Kendrian Elliott

Alexis Gaulden

Kelsee Grovey

Ashley Hughes

Ebony Parker

Tatyana Perez

Crystal Polk

Jessica Pongonis

Addison Richards

Tyjae' Scales

Liesl Spoerl

Erika Wakefield