Tulsa Women’s Basketball vs. East Carolina Preview

Tuesday, January 31 ~ 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 Online, 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.

Video: Watch Live on TulsaHurricane.com

Live Stats: Click Here

Rosters: Tulsa ~ East Carolina

2016-17 Season Stats: Tulsa ~ East Carolina

Tulsa Facebook: TulsaHurricane ~ TulsaWBasketball

East Carolina Facebook: East Carolina WBB

Tulsa Twitter: TulsaHurricane ~ TUWBasketball

East Carolina Twitter: East Carolina WBB

Tulsa Instagram: TulsaHurricanePics ~ TulsaWBB

East Carolina Instagram: East Carolina WBB

The Coaches
Tulsa: Matilda Mossman (Western Kentucky, 1979), 6th Year
Career Record: 226-188 (14 years)
Record at Tulsa: 79-95 (6 years)

East Carolina: Heather Macy (Greensboro College, 2000), 7th Year
Record: 232-133 (14 years)
Record at ECU: 117-94 (6 years)

Tulsa's Probable Starters
F     00     Kendrian Elliott, 6-2, Fr-HS, Wichita, Kan., 8.2 ppg, 7.3 rpg
G     3       Erika Wakefield, 5-4, Jr-2L, Moore, Okla., 11.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.5 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., 9.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg
F     35     Liesl Spoerl, 6-1, Jr-2L, Tulsa, Okla., 5.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg

East Carolina's Probable Starters
G     1       Alex Frazier, 5-9, So, Lawrenceville, Ga., 3.0 ppg, 2.2 rpg
G     2       Khadidja Toure, 5-9, Sr, Kennewick, Wash., 7.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg
F     20     Bre McDonald, 6-0, Sr, Lithonia, Ga., 11.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg
G     23     Dominique Claytor, 5-11, Fr, Winston-Salem, N.C., 3.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg
F     24     Kristen Gaffney, 6-1, Sr, Cary, Ind., 14.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg

In the Last Game
        Shug Dickson had her fourth 20+ scoring game in the last five contests as the freshman led Tulsa to a 66-59 win over SMU Saturday night in front of 864 fans at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.         Tatyana Perez added 12 points on four three-pointers, while Kendrian Elliott added eight points and 12 rebounds for the Hurricane.
        The Hurricane grabbed a season-high 50 boards, out-rebounding a much taller SMU team by one rebound. The difference in the game was Tulsa's nine three-pointers to SMU's three treys. SMU had a 34-to-16 point advantage in the paint and 22 second-chance points to Tulsa's nine, as well as a 10-to-2 edge on points off turnovers.

Scouting the Opponent
        East Carolina has a 10-11 overall record, including a 1-7 mark in American Athletic Conference play and a 1-6 mark on the road. The Pirates are led by Kristen Gaffney and Bre McDonald with 14.3 and 11.5 points per game, respectively, as well as 6.1 and 5.9 rebounds per game, respectively. Gaffney has a team-best 29 steals, McDonald and Khadidja Toure both have 12 blocks and Alex Frazier has a team-leading 46 assists.

Against the Opponent
        This will be the 18th meeting between Tulsa and East Carolina, as the Golden Hurricane has a 9-8 lead in the all-time series. TU has won the last three-straight contests with ECU, including a narrow 55-54 win last season in Greenville, N.C., in the last meeting.

In the Nation
        Tulsa ranks 59th in the nation in three-point field goals made (153), 66th in three-point field goals per game (7.3) and three-point field goal percentage (.347), 68th in free-throw percentage (73.3), 72nd in fewest turnovers per game (14.3), 79th in fewest turnovers (300), 80th in three-point field goal attempts (441) and 90th in three-point field goal defense (29.6).
        Erika Wakefield is 125th in free throw percentage (80.0), 210th in assist-turnover ratio (1.35) and 212th in assists per game (3.5); Ebony Parker is 124th in three-point field goal percentage (35.1) and 182nd in three-point field goals per game (2.0); and Kendrian Elliott ranks 193rd in rebounds per game (7.3).

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 eight double-digit games, Shug Dickson has seven and Kendrian Elliott has 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 #1 UConn (1-17-17), and 20 against SMU (1-28-17), 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)].

Behind the Arc
        Eight of Tulsa players have combined for 153 three-pointers this season, for a 7.3 three-pointers per game average. TU's opponents have hit 103 three's for 4.9 per game.
        Ebony Parker has a team-best 40 trey's, Alexis Gaulden has hit 31, Tatyana Perez has 29, Shug Dickson has 19 and Addison Richards has 11. Liesl Spoerl and Ashley Hughes both have nine trey's this season.

Shooting the Ball
        Kendrian Elliott has a team-high .479 field goal percentage. Jessica Pongonis is TU's next best shooter with 44.1-percent, followed by Crystal Polk at 42.9-percent, Erika Wakefield at 40.5-percent and Addison Richards at 40.0-percent.

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 (.524); Kendrian Elliott is third in blocks (17) and fourth in field goal percentage (.479); Alexis Gaulden is third in three-point field goal percentage (.378); and Shug Dickson is fifth in free throw percentage (.780).

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 227 assists for 10th place and needs 15 more to tie Tatum Beer (2007-11) who has the No. 9 slot with 242.

Mossman Has 226 Career Wins
        Matilda Mossman has collected 226 career victories, including 67 wins at Arkansas, 80 wins at Kansas State and currently 79 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. East Carolina 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