Tulsa Women’s Basketball vs. Memphis Preview

Wednesday, January 4

Reynolds Center

7:00 pm

Tulsa

Memphis

Buy Tickets

Tulsa Women’s Basketball vs. Memphis Preview

1/3/2017 11:13:00 AM | Women's Basketball

By: Stephanie Hall

Wednesday, January 4 ~ 7:00 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 or watch on Cox VWH Channel (in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Iowa, Cleveland, New England, Virginia and Florida)

Live Stats: Click Here

Rosters: Tulsa ~ Memphis

2016-17 Season Stats: Tulsa ~ Memphis

Tulsa Facebook: TulsaHurricane ~ TulsaWBasketball

Memphis Facebook: Memphis WBB

Tulsa Twitter: TulsaHurricane ~ TUWBasketball

Memphis Twitter: Memphis WBB

Tulsa Instagram: TulsaHurricanePics ~ TulsaWBB

Memphis Instagram: Memphis WBB

The Coaches
Tulsa: Matilda Mossman (Western Kentucky, 1979), 6th Year
Career Record: 223-184 (14 years)
Record at Tulsa: 76-91 (6 years)

Memphis: Melissa McFerrin (Missouri, 1983), 9th Year
Record: 197-193 (13 years)
Record at Memphis: 147-123 (9 years)

Tulsa's Probable Starters
F     00     Kendrian Elliott, 6-2, Fr-HS, Wichita, Kan., 9.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg
G     3       Erika Wakefield, 5-4, Jr-2L, Moore, Okla., 13.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.4 apg
G     10     Alexis Gaulden, 5-8, Fr-HS, Broken Arrow, Okla., 9.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg
G     12     Shug Dickson, 5-9, Fr-HS, St. Louis, Mo., 5.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg
F     35     Liesl Spoerl, 6-1, Jr-2L, Tulsa, Okla., 4.7 ppg, 2.5 rpg

Memphis' Probable Starters
G     1       Breigha Wilder-Cochran, 5-9, Jr, Hoover, Ala., 7.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg
G     3       Taylor Williams, 6-1, Sr, Kansas City, Kan., 12.0 ppg, 4.9 rpg
G     5       Brea Elmore, 5-9, Jr, Stone Mountain, Ga., 13.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg
F     10     Cheyenne Creighton, 6-1, Jr, Ontario, Canada, 15.4 ppg, 8.0 rpg
F     25     Brianna Porter, 6-3, So, Nashville, Tenn., 3.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg

In the Last Game
     Erika Wakefield scored a career-high 25 points, but it wasn't enough as Tulsa dropped a 71-66 decision to Houston on Sunday afternoon at Hofheinz Pavilion in Houston, Texas.
     Liesl Spoerl added 12 points and a team-best nine rebounds, while Alexis Gaulden scored nine points. Kendrian Elliott had eight boards and four blocks, and Wakefield had four steals.

Scouting the Opponent
     Memphis has a 7-7 overall record, including a 0-1 mark in American Athletic Conference play. Cheyenne Creighton has a team-leading 15.4 points per game and 8.0 rebounds per game, while Brea Elmore and Taylor Williams add 13.2 ppg and 12.0 ppg, respectively.

Against the Opponent
     This will be the 15th meeting between Tulsa and Memphis on the women's basketball court, as the series is tied 7-7. The two teams split last season, with both teams winning on the road, including a 69-58 win for Memphis in Tulsa in the latest match up.

In the Nation
     Tulsa ranks 39th in the nation in three-point field goals made (104), 54th in three-point field goal percentage (.355), 59th in three-point field goals per game (7.4) and turnovers per game (14.3), 64th in three-point field goals attempted (293), 71st in three-point field goal defense (28.7), and 91st in free-throw percentage (71.8).
     Erika Wakefield is 152nd in field goal percentage and 165th in free throw percentge (77.6), while Kendrian Elliott ranks 176th in rebounds per game (7.5) and 190th in blocked shots per game (1.18).

Stepping Up
     Nine of Tulsa's 13 players have scored in double figures this season. Erika Wakefield has scored in double figures 10 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, Jessica Pongonis and Liesl Spoerl all have two double-figure contests. Shug Dickson has 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 and scored a career-high 25 points at Houston (1-1-17).

The Losses that Could Have Been Wins
     In Tulsa's 10 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)].

Shoot the Ball
     Kendrian Elliott has a team-high .500 field goal percentage. Jessica Pongonis is TU's next best shooter with 46.7-percent, followed by Erika Wakefield at 45.8-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 104 three-pointers this season, for a 7.4 three-pointers per game average. TU's opponents have hit 66 three's for 4.7 per game.
     Alexis Gaulden has a team-best 25 trey's, while Tatyana Perez and Ebony Parker both have 22 three's on the year.

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.

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.