Tulsa Concludes Season with 78-52 Loss to Temple in The American Quarterfinals

Saturday, March 5

Uncasville, Conn.

7:00 pm

Tulsa

12-19

Temple

20-10

Tulsa

Temple

Tulsa Concludes Season with 78-52 Loss to Temple in The American Quarterfinals

3/5/2016 9:35:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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By: Stephanie Hall

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Tulsa's sixth-seeded women's basketball team dropped a 78-52 decision to third-seeded Temple in the American Athletic Conference Championship quarterfinals on Saturday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The Golden Hurricane concluded the season with a 12-19 mark, while the Owls moved to 20-10 overall.

"I am proud of the effort our team gave, but we just couldn't make enough shots," Head Coach Matilda Mossman said. "We played a very good basketball team tonight."

"As we talked about in the locker room, Ashley Clark and Kelsee Grovey have modeled great behavior and have been everything you could want from a basketball player," Mossman added. "They have come to work every day and did everything they were suppose to do. They have represented our team, our program and our University very well. They are two great human beings and will go out in the world and do great things."

"We've had good experiences and hopefully helped change the face of the Tulsa program and made it a school people talk about," Clark said. "This season didn't go as planned, but we did have an inexperienced team that got a lot of experience, which will help move them forward as it did when Kelsee and I were freshmen."

"The reason I chose Tulsa was to change the culture of the team and I feel like we've done that the last four years," Grovey said. "We are leaving the program in good hands and they will be fun to watch next season."

Clark had a team-leading 18 points and eight rebounds, while Erika Wakefield added 10 points, Jordyn Holmes had nine and Te'era Williams posted five.

Tulsa started the third quarter with a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to 12 (36-24) and only lost the period by three points (24-21), but couldn't make up the first half deficit to trail 60-40 with only 10 minutes to play. Tulsa shot a much better percentage in the third quarter with 42-percent, but the Owls were on fire with 66-percent from the field.

Temple came out and hit three treys to start the fourth frame on a 9-0 run in the first 90 seconds to claim a game-high 29-point lead. The Owls outscored Tulsa, 18-12, to end the game with a 26-point advantage.

Tulsa shot 33-percent from the field, including just seven-percent from three-point range, and hit 77-percent from the charity stripe, while Temple shot 45-percent from the field, 30-percent from behind the arc and 80-percent from the free throw line.

Temple had 20 points in the paint and eight fast break points in the first half, while Tulsa had just eight points in the paint and two fast-break points. The Golden Hurricane narrowed that gap at the end, as Temple had a 32-20 lead in points in the paint and an 11-8 advantage in second-chance points.

Temple had a 46-30 lead in rebounds, a 14-4 advantage in assists and a 3-2 lead in blocks, while Tulsa had an 8-6 lead in steals. Both teams had 12 turnovers in the contest.

Tulsa got out to a 6-5 lead with 6:01 on the clock, but the Owls battled for a 12-4 run to take a 17-10 advantage at the end of the first period. The Golden Hurricane was shooting at a 25-percent clip, while the Owls were scoring at 38-percent in the first 10-minute frame.

Temple continued their run, outscoring Tulsa, 14-5, for a 31-15 advantage with 4:35 remaining in the second quarter. The Owls inched ahead for a 21-point lead, 36-15, with 3:35 on the clock, but the Hurricane held Temple to without a point and Wakefield scored two baskets as Tulsa went into halftime down, 36-19.

The Owls were led by five players in double figures, including 20 points by Tanaya Atkinson. Alliya Butts and Feyonda Fitzgerald both added 14 points, Donnaizha Fountain scored 11 and Erica Covile posted 10. Atkinson posted nine rebounds, and Covile and Fountain both had eight.