Tulsa Women’s Basketball vs. #1 UConn

Wednesday, January 6 ~ 6:00 pm Central ~ XL Center ~ Hartford, 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.

Video: Watch Live on ESPN3

Live Stats: Click Here

Rosters: Tulsa ~ UConn

2015-16 Season Stats: Tulsa ~ UConn

Tulsa Facebook: TulsaHurricane ~ TulsaWBasketball

UConn Facebook: UConn WBB

Tulsa Twitter: TulsaHurricane ~ TUWBasketball

UConn Twitter: UConn WBB

Tulsa Instagram: TulsaHurricanePics ~ TulsaWBB

UConn Instagram: UConn WBB

The Coaches
Tulsa: Matilda Mossman (Western Kentucky, 1979), 5th Year
Career Record: 212-163 (13 years)
Record at Tulsa: 65-70 (5 years)

UConn: Geno Auriemma (West Chester, 1981), 31st Year
Career Record: 928-134 (31 years)
Record at UConn: same

Tulsa's Probable Starters
G          00       Kelsee Grovey, 5-8, Sr.-3L, Shawnee, Okla., 11. 1 ppg, 2.8 rpg
G          3          Erika Wakefield, 5-4, So.-1L, Moore, Okla., 11.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.5 apg
F          21       Te'era Williams, 5-11, Jr.-RS, Oklahoma City, Okla., 4.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg
G          23       Ashley Clark, 5-11, Sr.-3L, Midwest City, Okla., 13.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg
F          33       Crystal Polk, 6-2, Fr.-HS, Lawton, Okla., 7.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg

UConn's Probable Starters
F          3          Morgan Tuck, 6-2, Jr., Bolingbrook, Ill., 15.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg
G          4          Moriah Jefferson, 5-7, Sr., Glenn Heights, Texas, 13.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg
G          11       Kia Nurse, 6-0, So., Hamilton, Ontario, 10.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg
G          24       Napheesa Collier, 6-1, Fr., O'Fallon, Mo., 6.5 ppg, 6.7 rpg
F          30       Breanna Stewart, 6-4, Sr., North Syracuse, N.Y., 22.2 ppg, 8.0 rpg

Tulsa Begins Three-Game Road Swing
            Tulsa will begin a three-game road swing against #1 UConn on Wednesday, January 6. Game time is set for 6:00 pm Central at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn.

2-0 to Start Conference Play
            This is the first time Tulsa is 2-0 in conference play since the 2007-08 season when the Golden Hurricane competed in Conference USA. During that year, TU also won their first game of conference play in overtime against SMU (75-62) and narrowly topped Southern Miss (63-62). That year, TU went on to make it 3-0 with a 65-59 win over UCF. All three games were in Tulsa.

Making Assists
            Erika Wakefield has a team-best 46 assists this season, including a career-high 10 assists against SMU on January 2, 2016. This marked the first time a TU player tallied 10 or more assists in a game since Taleya Mayberry had 10 against Akron on November 28, 2009.

The Last Game
            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.
            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.
            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.

The Opponent
            UConn has an 11-0 overall record and tallied a 107-45 win over Cincinnati in their only league contest. The Huskies are led by five players in double figures, including a team-best 22.2 points by senior Breanna Stewart. Stewart and Natalie Butler both average 8.0 rebounds per game, Moriah Jefferson has 67 assists and 30 steals, and Stewart has 28 blocks.

Series History
            This will be the third meeting in the all-time series with UConn as the Huskies had a 98-60 win in Hartford and a 92-46 victory in Tulsa last year.

Adding Up
            Tulsa junior Ashley Clark became the ninth women's basketball player in school history to score 1,000 career points and one game later Kelsee Grovey tallied her 1,000th point. Clark currently has 1,242 points and Grovey has 1,176 points.

The Losses
            In five of Tulsa's eight losses, TU has led at some point in the fourth quarter, but weren't able to sustain the advantage. The Hurricane's closest decision came against Indiana State when Tulsa had the lead with 51-seconds to play. TU also led George Mason (1:33 left), Kansas State (4:46 left), Drake (9:32 left) and Oral Roberts (to start the 4th quarter).

Mossman Has 212 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 65 wins at TU for 212 career victories.

Clark Named to The American Preseason Team; Hurricane Picked Sixth
            Tulsa guard Ashley Clark was named to the American Athletic Conference preseason all-conference second team, while the team was picked to finish sixth in the Preseason Coaches' Poll. In the coaches' poll, UConn was predicted to win the 2015-16 American Athletic Conference Championship, while USF was second and Temple third. East Carolina, Tulane, Tulsa, Memphis, SMU, UCF, Cincinnati and Houston round out the poll.

In Tulsa's Top 10
            Four current Tulsa women's basketball players have earned their way into Tulsa's Top 10 career lists.
- Ashley Clark is third in double-doubles (11), fourth in field goals made (490), sixth in points (1,242), seventh in rebounds (640), ninth in assists (238) and 10th in free throws made (217)
- Kelsee Grovey is second in three-point field goals made (193), sixth in assists (259), seventh in points (1,176) and three-point field goal percentage with a .366 clip (193 of 526), eighth in free throw percentage with a .815 clip (181 of 222) and steals (151), and ninth in field goals made (401)
- Ashley Hughes is seventh in free throw percentage with a .821 clip (23 of 28)
- Teanna Reid is second in three-point field goal percentage with a .389 clip (51 of 131)

The Non-Conference Slate
            Tulsa's 11-game non-conference slate featured seven games against 2015 postseason teams. All 11 of TU's non-conference opponents finished last year with double-digit wins, while Arkansas, Oklahoma and UALR competed in the NCAA Tournament; Drake, Kansas State and Northern Iowa played in the WNIT; and Oral Roberts participated in the WBI.

The League Opponents
            Tulsa will play host to 10-time National Champion UConn, as well as NCAA Tournament participants USF and Tulane, in American Athletic Conference action.
            Six teams in The American advanced to postseason play last year, as East Carolina, Temple and Tulsa competed in the Women's National Invitation Tournament.

UConn to Host American Championship
            UConn will host the 2016 American Athletic Conference Championship at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., from March 4-7.

Tulsa Women’s Basketball vs. #1 UConn

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Players Mentioned

Ashley Clark

Kelsee Grovey

Ashley Hughes

Crystal Polk

Teanna Reid

Liesl Spoerl

Erika Wakefield

Te'era Williams