Tulsa Women’s Basketball vs. SMU Preview

Saturday, January 28 ~ 7:00 pm Central ~ Donald W. Reynolds Center ~ Tulsa, Okla.

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

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 ~ SMU

2016-17 Season Stats: Tulsa ~ SMU

Tulsa Facebook: TulsaHurricane ~ TulsaWBasketball

SMU Facebook: SMU WBB

Tulsa Twitter: TulsaHurricane ~ TUWBasketball

SMU Twitter: SMU WBB

Tulsa Instagram: TulsaHurricanePics ~ TulsaWBB

SMU Instagram: SMU WBB

The Coaches
Tulsa: Matilda Mossman (Western Kentucky, 1979), 6th Year
Career Record: 225-188 (14 years)
Record at Tulsa: 78-95 (6 years)

SMU: Travis Mays (Texas, 1990), 1st Year
Record: 11-9 (1 year)
Record at SMU: same

Tulsa's Probable Starters
F     00     Kendrian Elliott, 6-2, Fr-HS, Wichita, Kan., 8.2 ppg, 7.1 rpg
G     3       Erika Wakefield, 5-4, Jr-2L, Moore, Okla., 12.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3.3 apg
G     11     Ebony Parker, 5-8, Jr-TR, Houston, Texas, 7.1 ppg, 1.0 rpg
G     12     Shug Dickson, 5-9, Fr-HS, St. Louis, Mo., 8.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg
F     35     Liesl Spoerl, 6-1, Jr-2L, Tulsa, Okla., 5.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg

SMU's Probable Starters
G     0       Kiara Perry, 5-10, Jr-2L, Duncanville, Texas, 7.8 ppg, 6.1 rpg
G     3       McKenzie Adams, 5-9, Jr-1L, Frisco, Texas, 11.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg
F     10     Alicia Froling, 6-3, Jr-2L, Queensland, Australia, 15.1 ppg, 10.8 rpg
G     12     Morgan Bolton, 5-6, Sr-2L, Duncanville, Texas, 5.5 ppg, 2.4 rpg
C     15     Stephanie Collins, 6-5, Jr-2L, Melbourne, Australia, 4.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg

In the Last Game
        Liesl Spoerl recorded her first career double-double with 14 points and 19 rebounds in a 70-65 loss to Tulane on Wednesday night at Devlin Fieldhouse in New Orleans, La. Spoerl's 19 rebounds were the most since Denise Lewis had 20 boards against Texas A&M-International during the 2010-11 season.
        Shug Dickson added 11 points and six rebounds, while Erika Wakefield also registered double-digit points with 10 and had a team-best four assists.

Scouting the Opponent
        SMU has an 11-9 overall record, including a 2-5 mark in American Athletic Conference game and are 2-5 on the road this season. The Mustangs are led by Alicia Froling who has averages a double-double with teams-bests of 15.1 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, and has a team-high 31 blocks. McKenzie Adams also posts double-digit points with 11.8 ppg, and Kiara Perry has a team-leading 51 assists and 35 steals.

Against the Opponent
        This will be the 43rd meeting between Tulsa and SMU, as the Mustangs have a 26-16 lead in the all-time series. Both teams won on their home court last season.

In the Nation
        Tulsa ranks 51st in three-point field goals made (144), 56th in the nation in three-point field goal percentage (.350), 60th in free-throw percentage (73.6), 67th in three-point field goals per game (7.2), 78th in fewest turnovers per game (14.4), 79th in three-point field goal attempts (411) and 97th in three-point field goal defense (29.8).
        Erika Wakefield is 117th in free throw percentage (80.8), 245th in assists per game (3.4) and 249th in assist-turnover ratio (1.22); Ebony Parker is 117th in three-point field goal percentage (36.2) and 175th in three-point field goals per game (2.0); and Kendrian Elliott ranks 235th 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 14 times, while Tatyana Perez has seven double-digit games and Shug Dickson and Kendrian Elliott both have six. Alexis Gaulden and Ebony Parker each have five double-figure contests, Liesl Spoerl has four, 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 was 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 14 losses this season, the Golden Hurricane has lost nine of those by single digits, including six games by two or less baskets. Tulsa fell to Arkansas State and South Dakota by 3 each, Indiana State by 4, Tulane, 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 .491 field goal percentage. Jessica Pongonis is TU's next best shooter with 44.1-percent, followed by Crystal Polk at 43.3-percent, Erika Wakefield at 41.6-percent and Addison Richards at 40.9-percent.

Behind the Arc
        Eight of Tulsa players have combined for 144 three-pointers this season, for a 7.2 three-pointers per game average. TU's opponents have hit 100 three's for 5.0 per game.
        Ebony Parker has a team-best 38 trey's, Alexis Gaulden has hit 30, Tatyana Perez has 25, Shug Dickson has 17 and Addison Richards has 11. Liesl Spoerl and Ashley Hughes both have nine trey's this season.

Freshmen Making Marks
        All 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 (.550); Kendrian Elliott is third in field goal percentage (.491) and fourth in blocks (14); Alexis Gaulden is third in three-point field goal percentage (.380); 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 220 assists for 10th place and needs 22 more to tie Tatum Beer (2007-11) who 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. SMU 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