Tulsa Women Fall 70-50 to Cincinnati

Saturday, January 19

Reynolds Center

2:00 pm

Tulsa

9-9, 3-2

Cincinnati

11-7, 3-2

Cincinnati

Tulsa

Tulsa Women Fall 70-50 to Cincinnati

1/19/2019 4:51:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

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

The ball didn't bounce Tulsa's way in the first half as the Cincinnati Bearcats took control and went on for a 70-50 victory Saturday afternoon over the Golden Hurricane in front of 842 fans at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

Alexis Gaulden finished with 15 points and Rebecca Lescay had 10 to lead the Hurricane, while the Bearcats had four double-figure scorers, led by Ilmar'i Thomas' 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Tulsa (9-9, 3-2 AAC) didn't reach 20 points in the first half and only hit the 22-point plateau at the end of three quarters as Cincinnati (11-8, 3-2 AAC) had a 47-22 lead after the third stanza. The Hurricane came to life in the final period by scoring 28 points, but it wasn't enough to climb back into the contest.

"I think at the beginning of the game Cincinnati just played harder than we did and had more fight, and we didn't play hard. As a result, we got down and after halftime they came out and played with a lot of emotion and the fact that they were ahead gave them confidence," said Tulsa head coach Matilda Mossman.

"We struggled to score, period. Lex finally got 15, but at halftime she had one point and Crystal had three, and both were in foul trouble," added Mossman.

The Bearcats increased its 13-point halftime lead to 27 points in the third quarter. In the final stanza, the Hurricane scored 8 more points than it did in the previous three quarters combined and outscored the visitors 28-23 in the final 10 minutes. Tulsa also shot 73-percent in the fourth period, making 11-of-15 from the field.

Tulsa ended the game shooting 38-percent from the field after a dismal 15-percent in the first half, and connected on just 3-of-12 three-pointers for 25-percent, making 3-of-5 in the fourth period. Meanwhile, the Bearcats shot a Tulsa opponent-high this season of 55.6 percent from the field, converting 30-of-54 field goals.

Cincinnati also had a resounding 39-to-24 advantage in rebounding and also outscored the Hurricane in the paint 40-to-28.

Nothing went right for the Hurricane in the first half as the Bearcats led 25-12 at the intermission. Tulsa made just 4-of-26 shots for 15-percent, was 0-of-6 from behind the arc and shot just 40-percent from the free throw line on 4-of-10.

Tulsa scored just 8 points in the first quarter, trailing 13-8, and tallied only 4 points in the second quarter.

The Bearcats shot 42 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes and out-scored Tulsa in the paint 16-8. Cincinnati also held a 24-16 edge on the boards, but had 4 more turnovers than the Hurricane at 12-to-8. Tulsa had six steals in the first half, but could only turn that into 4 points.

Cincinnati's Thomas had 11 points and 7 rebounds in the first half, while Tulsa's leading scorers – Crystal Polk and Desiree Lewis – scored 3 points apiece.

Tulsa goes on the road next Saturday to face the Houston Cougars in a 2:00 p.m. game before returning to the Reynolds Center Tuesday night, Jan. 29, against the Temple Owls with a 7 p.m. tip time.