Tulsa Women’s Basketball vs. Houston Preview

Sunday, January 1 ~ 3:30 pm Central ~ Hofheinz Pavilion ~ Houston, Texas

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 Live

Video: Watch Live on ESPNU

Live Stats: Click Here

Rosters: Tulsa ~ Houston

2016-17 Season Stats: Tulsa ~ Houston

Tulsa Facebook: TulsaHurricane ~ TulsaWBasketball

Houston Facebook: Houston WBB

Tulsa Twitter: TulsaHurricane ~ TUWBasketball

Houston Twitter: Houston WBB

Tulsa Instagram: TulsaHurricanePics ~ TulsaWBB

Houston Instagram: Houston WBB

The Coaches
Tulsa: Matilda Mossman (Western Kentucky, 1979), 6th Year
Career Record: 223-183 (14 years)
Record at Tulsa: 76-90 (6 years)

Houston: Ronald Hughey (Limestone College, 2006), 3rd Year
Record: 19-54 (3 years)
Record at Houston: same

Tulsa's Probable Starters
F     00     Kendrian Elliott, 6-2, Fr-HS, Wichita, Kan., 10.1 ppg, 7.4 rpg
G     2       Tatyana Perez, 5-6, So-1L, Cypress, Texas, 8.4 ppg, 2.0 rpg
G     3       Erika Wakefield, 5-4, Jr-2L, Moore, Okla., 12.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.5 apg
G     10     Alexis Gaulden, 5-8, Fr-HS, Broken Arrow, Okla., 9.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg
F     22     Jessica Pongonis, 6-1, Sr-1L, Fishers, Ind., 2.5 ppg, 1.4 rpg

Houston's Probable Starters
G     1       Chyanne Butler, 5-6, Jr-1L, Costa Mesa, Calif., 10.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg
G     23     Serithia Hawkins, 5-11, So-1L, Moore, Okla., 7.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg
G     24     Mariah Mitchell, 5-9, Jr-2L, McKinney, Texas, 5.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg
G     25     Kierra Graves, 5-7, Sr-1L, Chicago, Ill., 8.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg
C     32     Sharayla Brown, 6-3, So-1L, Tulsa, Okla., 1.9 ppg, 2.1 rpg

In the Last Game
     Three Tulsa women's basketball players scored in double figures, but it wasn't enough as the Golden Hurricane dropped a 72-68 decision to Indiana State on Wednesday afternoon at the Hulman Center in Terre Haute, Ind.
     Erika Wakefield had team-highs of 17 points, six assists and four steals, while Alexis Gaulden and Ebony Parker both had 13 points. Kendrian Elliott pulled down a team-best 10 rebounds.

Scouting the Opponent
     Houston has a 7-6 overall record, including a 4-2 mark at home, and have won four of their last five games. The Cougars are led by Chyanne Butler with 10.6 points per game, while Jasmyne Harris adds 10.2 ppg. Serithia Hawkins has a team-best 7.8 rebounds per game and 24 steals, while Butler has a team-leading 40 assists.

Against the Opponent
     This will be the 22nd meeting between Tulsa and Houston on the women's basketball court, as TU has a 15-6 lead in the all-time series. The Golden Hurricane has won the last nine meetings, including all three last season.

In the Nation
     Tulsa ranks 26th in the nation in three-point field goals made (98), 32nd in three-point field goal percentage (.373), 39th in turnovers per game (13.8), 56th in three-point field goals attempted (263), 59th in three-point field goals per game (7.5), 86th in three-point field goal defense (29.0) and 95th in free-throw percentage (71.5).
     Erika Wakefield is 120th in minutes played (405), and 229th in assist turnover ratio (1.35) and assists per game (3.5); and Kendrian Elliott ranks 192nd in rebounds per game (7.4).

Stepping Up
     Nine of Tulsa's 13 players have scored in double figures this season. Erika Wakefield has scored in double figures nine times, while Tatyana Perez has six double-digit games and Kendrian Elliott has five double-figure scoring contests. Alexis Gaulden has four double-figure contests, Ebony Parker has three double-digit games, and Crystal Polk and Jessica Pongonis both have two double-figure contests. Shug Dickson and Liesl Spoerl have both had one double-figure scoring game on the year.

20+ Scorers
     Alexis Gaulden's 23 points against Saint Louis marked the third-straight game a TU player has scored 20+ points. Ebony Parker scored 20 points against #19/20 Oklahoma and Kendrian Elliott had 20 points against Arkansas State. Erika Wakefield also scored 20+ points as she tallied 21 in the season opener at UMKC.

Above 500
     Kendrian Elliott has a team-high .506 field goal percentage. Erika Wakefield is TU's next best shooter with 47.1-percent, followed by Jessica Pongonis at 46.7-percent.

In Tulsa's Top 10
     Ashley Hughes is second in free throw percentage in school history with a .865 clip (32 of 37).

Behind the Arc
     Eight of Tulsa players have combined for 98 three-pointers this season, for a 7.5 three-pointers per game average. TU's opponents have hit 63 three's for 4.8 per game.
     Alexis Gaulden has a team-best 23 trey's, Tatyana Perez has 22 and Ebony Parker has 20.

Mossman Has 223 Career Wins
     Matilda Mossman has collected 223 career victories, including 67 wins at Arkansas, 80 wins at Kansas State and currently 76 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.

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.

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 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 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.

Tulsa Women’s Basketball vs. Houston Preview

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Players Mentioned

Shug Dickson

Kendrian Elliott

Alexis Gaulden

Kelsee Grovey

Ashley Hughes

Ebony Parker

Tatyana Perez

Crystal Polk

Jessica Pongonis

Tyjae' Scales

Liesl Spoerl

Erika Wakefield