Tulsa Women’s Basketball vs. Temple Preview

Saturday, January 14 ~ 2:00 pm Central ~ Donald W. Reynolds Center ~ Tulsa, Okla.

Tickets: Single game tickets are $5 general admission (except UConn, which are $10 a ticket) and season passes are $50. Tickets can be purchased at the Reynolds Center ticket office or by calling 918.631.GoTU (4688).

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 the American Digital Network

Live Stats: Click Here

Rosters: Tulsa ~ Temple

2016-17 Season Stats: Tulsa ~ Temple

Tulsa Facebook: TulsaHurricane ~ TulsaWBasketball

Temple Facebook: Temple WBB

Tulsa Twitter: TulsaHurricane ~ TUWBasketball

Temple Twitter: Temple WBB

Tulsa Instagram: TulsaHurricanePics ~ TulsaWBB

The Coaches
Tulsa: Matilda Mossman (Western Kentucky, 1979), 6th Year
Career Record: 224-185 (14 years)
Record at Tulsa: 77-92 (6 years)

Temple: Tonya Cardoza (Virginia, 1991), 9th Year
Record: 176-104 (9 years)
Record at Temple: same

Tulsa's Probable Starters
F     00     Kendrian Elliott, 6-2, Fr-HS, Wichita, Kan., 9.4 ppg, 7.4 rpg
G     3       Erika Wakefield, 5-4, Jr-2L, Moore, Okla., 12.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.3 apg
G     10     Alexis Gaulden, 5-8, Fr-HS, Broken Arrow, Okla., 9.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg
G     13     Ashley Hughes, 5-7, Sr-3L, Sulphur, Okla., 3.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg
F     35     Liesl Spoerl, 6-1, Jr-2L, Tulsa, Okla., 4.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg

Temple's Probable Starters
G     00     Alliya Butts, 5-4, Jr, Edgewater Park, N.J., 15.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg
G     2       Feyonda Fitzgerald, 5-7, Sr, Norfolk, Va., 19.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg
F     12     Ruth Sherrill, 6-0, Sr, Alexandria, Va., 5.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg
G     32     Donnaizha Fountain, 6-0, Jr, Roxbury, Mass., 11.9 ppg, 8.1 rpg
C     35     Safiya Martin, 6-4, Sr, Fayettteville, Ga., 2.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg

In the Last Game
     The Tulsa women's basketball team dropped an 84-68 decision to #22 USF on Saturday night at the Sun Dome in Tampa, Fla.
     Kendrian Elliott led TU's attack with 14 points, while Ebony Parker and Shug Dickson both had 11, and Erika Wakefield added 10 points. Elliott and Dickson both had five rebounds, Wakefield and Dickson had three assists, and Wakefield had three steals.

Scouting the Opponent
     Temple has a 12-3 overall record, including a 3-0 mark in American Athletic Conference play, and is currently on an eight-game winning streak. The Owls are led by four players averaging double-digit points, including Feyonda Fitzgerald (19.0), Alliya Butts (15.9), Tanaya Atkinson (14.1) and Donnaizha Fountain (11.9). Atkinson has a team-high 8.7 rebounds per game, Fitzgerald has 113 assists, Butts has 31 steals and Safiya Martin has 21 blocks.

Against the Opponent
     This will be the fourth meeting between Tulsa and Temple, as the Owls have a 2-1 lead in the all-time series, including 78-52 win in the last meeting last season in the conference tournament. The Golden Hurricane won the only other meeting in Tulsa during the 2014-15 season, 75-67.

In the Nation
     Tulsa ranks 55th in the nation in three-point field goals made (115), 57th in turnovers per game (14.2), 58th in three-point field goal percentage (.352), 68th in three-point field goals per game (7.2), 72nd in free-throw percentage (72.7), 77th in three-point field goal defense (28.8), 82nd in three-point field goals attempted (327) and 92nd in fewest turnovers (227).
     Erika Wakefield is 136th in free throw percentage (78.9), 245th in assists per game (3.4) and 246th in steals per game (1.81); Kendrian Elliott ranks 194th in rebounds per game (7.4); and Alexis Gaulden is 236th in three-point field goals per game (1.88).

Stepping Up
     Nine of Tulsa's 13 players have scored in double figures this season. Erika Wakefield has scored in double figures 12 times, while Kendrian Elliott and Tatyana Perez both have six double-digit games. Alexis Gaulden has five double-figure scoring contests, Ebony Parker has four double-digit games, and Shug Dickson, Crystal Polk, Jessica Pongonis and Liesl Spoerl all have two double-figure contests.

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 and scored a career-high 25 points at Houston (1-1-17).

The Losses that Could Have Been Wins
     In Tulsa's 11 losses this season, the Golden Hurricane has lost seven of those by single digits, including five games by two or less baskets. Tulsa fell to Arkansas State and South Dakota by 3 each, Indiana State by 4, Houston and Little Rock by 5 each, Arkansas by 7 and Oral Roberts by 8.
     TU also had a double-digit lead over three 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) and a 13-point lead over Arkansas State (lost by 3)].

Shooting the Ball
     Kendrian Elliott has a team-high .505 field goal percentage. Jessica Pongonis is TU's next best shooter with 46.9-percent, followed by Erika Wakefield at 45.4-percent.

Behind the Arc
     Eight of Tulsa players have combined for 115 three-pointers this season, for a 7.2 three-pointers per game average. TU's opponents have hit 79 three's for 4.9 per game.
     Alexis Gaulden has a team-best 30 trey's, while Ebony Parker has 27 and Tatyana Perez has 22 three's on the year.

Freshmen Making Marks
     Three Tulsa freshmen have already earned a spot on the Tulsa Freshman Single-Season Records list. Alexis Gaulden is currently third in three-point field goal percentage (.405); Kendrian Elliott is second in field goal percentage (.505), fourth in blocks (13) and fifth in free throw percentage (.778); and Addison Richards is first in three-point field goal percentage (.600).

In Tulsa's Top 10
     Ashley Hughes is second in free throw percentage in school history with a .871 clip (34 of 39).

Nine More Assists
     Junior Erika Wakefield needs just nine more assists to rank in the top-10 on Tulsa's Career Chart. She currently has 207 assists, needing just nine more to tie Tammy Goyne (1998-2000) with 216 for the No. 10 spot.

Mossman Has 224 Career Wins
     Matilda Mossman has collected 224 career victories, including 67 wins at Arkansas, 80 wins at Kansas State and currently 77 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.

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. Temple 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

Addison Richards

Tyjae' Scales

Liesl Spoerl

Erika Wakefield