Tulsa Falls to #22 USF, 84-68

Saturday, January 7

Tampa, Fla.

6:00 pm

Tulsa

5-11, 1-2AAC

USF

13-1, 2-0AAC

Tulsa

USF

Tulsa Falls to #22 USF, 84-68

1/7/2017 9:16:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Stephanie Hall

Final Stats in PDF l Final Stats in HTML l Season Stats in PDF

The Tulsa women's basketball team dropped an 84-68 decision to #22 USF on Saturday night at the Sun Dome in Tampa, Fla. TU fell to 5-11 on the season and 1-2 in American Athletic Conference play, while the Bulls moved to 13-1 overall and 2-0 in the league.

"I thought our kids played hard," Head Coach Matilda Mossman said. "I thought we moved the ball well, took good shots and executed well, but unfortunately we couldn't make shots and that hurt. Our kids did what we asked them to do and I'm proud of our effort."

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.

The Golden Hurricane forced 14 turnovers on seven steals, while TU gave up 11 turnovers and six steals. USF had a 42-30 advantage in rebounds and a 17-14 lead in assists, while both teams had two blocks.

TU shot 44-percent from the field, 35-percent from three-point range and 75-percent (9-of-12) from the charity stripe, while the Bulls shot 46-percent from the field, 40-percent from behind the arc and 77-percent (14-of-18) from the free throw line.

Tulsa trailed USF, 8-4, with 4:31 left to play in the first quarter, but had already forced three Bull turnovers in the early going. USF took a 12-7 lead at the end of the frame, with neither team shooting above 30-percent.

USF came out fired up in the second quarter, outscoring TU, 13-3, with just 3:32 ticked off the clock in the period, to take a 25-10 lead. The Bulls climbed to a 17-point advantage (29-12) at the 5:28 mark, but the Golden Hurricane battled back and pulled to within 10, 33-23, on a three-pointer by Gaulden with just 40-seconds remaining in the half. A trey by Kitija Laksa with just 11-seconds left gave USF the 13-point lead at the break, 36-23. Laksa finished the first half with 24 points, including six three-point baskets.

TU battled with the Bulls in the third quarter, as USF had a 23-20 scoring advantage in the frame. Elliott had eight of the Hurricane's points in the frame, with four of them coming at the free throw line.

Both teams scored 25 points in the final frame, but TU couldn't overcome the 16-point deficit.

Tulsa had a 31-10 lead in points off the bench and a 13-9 advantage in points off turnovers, while USF had a 30-28 edge in points in the paint and a 12-0 lead in fast break points.

Laksa had a team-best 37 points, while Maria Jespersen added 20 points and a team-high 12 rebounds.

Tulsa will return to action on Saturday, January 14 against Temple. Game time is set for 2:00pm at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.