Tulsa Women’s Hoops Return to Court for First Preseason Practice Today
9/25/2018 5:01:00 PM | Women's Basketball
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TULSA, Okla. – The Tulsa women's basketball team began the season today with the first team practice at the Donald W. Reynolds Center. TU is under the direction of Head Coach Matilda Mossman, who begins her eighth year at the helm.
"I think this is an exciting time for everybody because when you start official practice, that means you are 42 days away from the first game," Mossman said. "Players and staff get excited for the first game. I think having the extended practice time over the summer has been beneficial in getting a chance to see not only our returners, but our new players, and I think there is a hunger for our returners to better things this season after last year."
The Golden Hurricane returns 10 letterwinners, including four starters, from last year's team. The roster features three seniors – Tatyana Perez, Crystal Polk and Tyjae' Scales; five juniors – Jasmine Butler, Shug Dickson, Kendrian Elliott, Alexis Gaulden and Addison Richards; two sophomores – Morgan Brady and Rebecca Lescay; and five freshmen – Maddie Bittle, Elin Hrafnkelsdottir, Desiree Lewis, Kayla Moutry and KK Rodriguez.
TU finished the 2017-18 season with a 10-21 overall record and a 3-13 mark, which tied for an 11th-place finish in the American Athletic Conference. In Tulsa's losses last season, the Golden Hurricane dropped nine of those by single digits, including eight games by two or less baskets.
"I think last year we were just inconsistent from game-to-game, and we were inconsistent from half-to-half," Mossman said. "Most of our top scorers were sophomores so now having that class move into their junior season with that experience will hopefully help us overcome that inconsistency."
Other positives TU can take from last season include shooting at a 73.3-percent clip from the free throw line, which was the fourth-best percentage in program history and ranked 81st nationally on the year. Individually, Crystal Polk (0.505 – 5th) and Kendrian Elliott (0.473 – 10th) earned their way into Tulsa's top-10 in field goal percentage, while Morgan Brady (0.824 – 8th) and Shug Dickson (.805 – 10th) rank among TU's best in free throw percentage.
The Golden Hurricane also returns five of its top-six scorers from a year ago.
TU will take on a potential 12 postseason teams from the 2017-18 season, including NCAA Tournament teams American, Arizona State, Belmont, Little Rock, UConn and USF; and WNIT teams Alabama, Cincinnati, Houston, Saint Louis, Stephen F. Austin and UCF.
Tulsa will host USAO in a preseason contest on Thursday, November 1 beginning at 7:00 pm before opening the regular season at home against Stetson on Tuesday, November 6 in a noon game. Both contests will be played in the Reynolds Center.
Women's season tickets are on sale now for just $50. For season tickets call the TU Athletic Ticket Office at 918.631.GoTU (4688) or stop by the TU Athletic Ticket Office located in the Reynolds Center.
For all Tulsa women's basketball news and information, visit TulsaHurricane.com. Follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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