Tulsa Women’s Basketball vs. Tulane Preview

Wednesday, January 25 ~ 7:00 pm Central ~ Devlin Fieldhouse ~ New Orleans, La.

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 ~ Tulane

2016-17 Season Stats: Tulsa ~ Tulane

Tulsa Facebook: TulsaHurricane ~ TulsaWBasketball

Tulane Facebook: Tulane WBB

Tulsa Twitter: TulsaHurricane ~ TUWBasketball

Tulane Twitter: Tulane WBB

Tulsa Instagram: TulsaHurricanePics ~ TulsaWBB

The Coaches
Tulsa: Matilda Mossman (Western Kentucky, 1979), 6th Year
Career Record: 225-187 (14 years)
Record at Tulsa: 78-94 (6 years)

Tulane: Lisa Stockton (Wake Forest, 1986), 23rd Year
Record: 536-261 (26 years)
Record at Tulane: 473-234 (23 years)

Tulsa's Probable Starters
F     00     Kendrian Elliott, 6-2, Fr-HS, Wichita, Kan., 8.4 ppg, 7.1 rpg
G     3       Erika Wakefield, 5-4, Jr-2L, Moore, Okla., 12.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.3 apg
G     11     Ebony Parker, 5-8, Jr-TR, Houston, Texas, 6.9 ppg, 0.9 rpg
G     12     Shug Dickson, 5-9, Fr-HS, St. Louis, Mo., 8.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg
F     35     Liesl Spoerl, 6-1, Jr-2L, Tulsa, Okla., 5.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg

Tulane's Probable Starters
G     3       Kolby Morgan, 5-8, Jr, New Orleans, La., 18.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg
G     11     Leslie Vorpahl, 5-6, Sr, San Antonio, Texas, 11.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg
G     15     Tene Thompson, 5-11, So, Powder Springs, Ga., 3.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg
C     25     Harlyn Wyatt, 6-2, So, Atlanta, Ga., 7.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg
G     33     Courtnie Latham, 5-11, Sr, Houston, Texas, 8.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg

In the Last Game
        Shug Dickson scored a career-high 22 points, while Erika Wakefield tallied 17 points and Ebony Parker recorded 15 to give Tulsa a 73-62 win over UCF on Saturday afternoon at the CFE Arena in Orlando, Fla. Dickson's 22 points marked her third-straight 20+ point game for TU and helped the Hurricane earn their first-ever win over UCF in Orlando in six games spanning 11 seasons.
        Kendrian Elliott pulled down a team-best six rebounds, while Wakefield added five, all of which were on the defensive end. Dickson had five assists and a block, and Tyjae' Scales recorded a team-best three steals.

Scouting the Opponent
        Tulane has a 12-7 overall record, including a 3-3 mark in the American Athletic Conference, and are 8-1 at home this season. The Green Wave is led by Kolby Morgan and Leslie Vorpahl with 18.5 and 11.8 points per game, respectively. Morgan has a team-best 35 steals, Vorpahl has 127 assists, Harlyn Wyatt has 16 blocks and Meredith Schulte has a 5.1 rebounds per game average.

Against the Opponent
        This will be the 26th meeting between Tulsa and Tulane, as the Green Wave has a 17-8 lead in the all-time series, including a 5-1 mark in the last six games.

In the Nation
        Tulsa ranks 47th in the nation in three-point field goal percentage (.355), 64th in three-point field goals per game (7.3), 66th in three-point field goals made (138), 74th in fewest turnovers (273), 76th in free-throw percentage (72.5), 78th in fewest turnovers per game (14.4), 96th in three-point field goal attempts (389).
        Erika Wakefield is 120th in free throw percentage (80.3), Ebony Parker is 210th in three-point field goals per game (1.94) and Kendrian Elliott ranks 230th in rebounds per game (7.1).

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

20+ Scorers
        Erika Wakefield had a team-leading and personal-best 25 points at Houston (1-1-17), while 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 21 points against #1 UConn (1-17-17), and Wakefield posted 21 points at UMKC (11-11-16). Ebony Parker had 20 points at #19/20 Oklahoma (12-11-16) and Kendrian Elliott had 20 points against Arkansas State (12-6-16).

Dickson's Scoring Streak
        Shug Dickson is 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.

The Losses that Could Have Been Wins
        In Tulsa's 12 losses this season, the Golden Hurricane has lost eight 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, Oral Roberts by 8, and Temple by 9.
        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 .500 field goal percentage. Jessica Pongonis is TU's next best shooter with 44.1-percent, followed by Crystal Polk at 43.1-percent and Erika Wakefield at 42.1-percent.

Behind the Arc
        Eight of Tulsa players have combined for 138 three-pointers this season, for a 7.3 three-pointers per game average. TU's opponents have hit 95 three's for 5.0 per game.
        Ebony Parker has a team-best 35 trey's, Alexis Gaulden has hit 30, Tatyana Perez has 25 and Shug Dickson has 16. Liesl Spoerl, Ashley Hughes and Addison Richards all have nine trey's this season.

Freshmen Making Marks
        Four Tulsa freshmen have already earned a spot on the Tulsa Freshman Single-Season Records list. Addison Richards is currently first in three-point field goal percentage (.500); Kendrian Elliott is second in field goal percentage (.500) and fourth in blocks (13); Alexis Gaulden is third in three-point field goal percentage (.395); and Shug Dickson is second in free throw percentage (.813).

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

Making Assists
        Junior Erika Wakefield ranks in the top-10 on Tulsa's Career Chart for assists. She currently has 216 assists, tying Tammy Goyne (1998-2000) with 216 for the No. 10 spot. Tatum Beer (2007-11) has the No. 9 slot with 242.

Mossman Has 225 Career Wins
        Matilda Mossman has collected 225 career victories, including 67 wins at Arkansas, 80 wins at Kansas State and currently 78 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. Tulane 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