Friday, January 4
Reynolds Center
7:00 pm
Tulsa
63
vs
49
Wichita State
Tulsa Wins American Athletic Conference Opener with 63-49 Win Over Wichita State
1/4/2019 9:37:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Final Stats in PDF
Final Stats in HTML
Season Stats in PDF
Kendrian Elliott came off the bench for a team-high 17 points to lead four players in double-figures in Tulsa's 63-49 victory over Wichita State Friday night in front of 1,009 fans at the Donald W. Reynolds Center. The Hurricane evened its season record to 7-7 and 1-0 in American Athletic Conference play, while the Shockers are also 7-7 overall.
Crystal Polk and Desiree Lewis had double-doubles, while Alexis Gaulden had a double-digit scoring night. Polk had 16 points and 11 rebounds, Lewis 12 points and 10 boards and Gaulden knocked down 14 points and had a team-high 4 assists.
"We thought going in that we would have an advantage in the post, but I didn't dream that our top three post players would all be in double figures. I thought our post players were patient, they didn't try to force anything, and for the most part when they had touches, they made baskets," said Tulsa head coach Matilda Mossman.
Elliott scored her 17 points in just 14 minutes, hitting 6-of-7 from the field and 5-of-5 from the free throw line. Gaulden hit all 3 of Tulsa's three-pointers, as the Hurricane finished the night knocking down just 3-of-20 from three-point range.
"I think Kendrian Elliott might be the most efficient post player in America right now. If you can get 17 points in 14 minutes, only miss one shot from the field and not miss a free throw, that's efficient," added Mossman.
The Hurricane had a season-high 19 offensive rebounds and a 38-34 edge over the Shockers in the final rebounding total. Tulsa also had the advantage for points in the paint, 38-to-30, and points off turnovers 29-to-10.
Despite Wichita Sate shooting better than Tulsa from the field and the three-point line, the Hurricane had 4 more field goals and scored 6 more points from the charity stripe than the Shockers.
Tulsa increased its 9-point halftime lead to 21 by the end of the third quarter when Gaulden's second trey of the period and third of the game gave the Hurricane a 54-33 lead heading into the final period.
Polk's quarter-opening layup gave the Hurricane its largest lead of the game at 56-33 with just 0:12 gone off the fourth period clock. Tulsa would get outscored in the final stanza, 16-to-9, but the closest that the Shockers would get was 12 points at 61-49 with two minutes remaining in the contest.
After the Shockers jumped out to a 3-0 lead to start the game, Tulsa rattled off the next 11 points for an 11-3 lead with 3:16 remaining in the first period. The Shockers closed the gap to 4 points at 15-11 before Elliott's layup at the first quarter buzzer gave the Hurricane a 17-11 lead at the break.
Tulsa increased its lead to 12 points within the first 4 minutes of the second period at 25-13. The Shockers went on a 10-2 run to cut its deficit to 4 points with 2:11 left on the first half clock, but the Hurricane scored the final 5 points of the half.
Gaulden connected on Tulsa's first three-pointer of the game at the 1:12 mark to give the Hurricane a 30-23 lead, while Polk's layup with 0:31 on the clock gave Tulsa its final halftime margin of 9 points, 32-23. Gaulden's trey snapped an 0-9 streak from behind the arc for the Hurricane in the first half, as Tulsa ended the first 20 minutes 1-of-11 from three-point range.
Polk led the way for Tulsa in the first half with 10 points, while Lewis added 7 points and a team-high 8 rebounds. The Hurricane grabbed 10 offensive rebounds to WSU's 4 and outscored the Shockers in the paint 22-10 and points off turnovers 14-5. Wichita State's Jaida Hampton led all first-half scorers with 12 points.
Tulsa will be back at the Reynolds Center next Wednesday for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff against the Memphis Tigers.
Final Stats in HTML
Season Stats in PDF
Kendrian Elliott came off the bench for a team-high 17 points to lead four players in double-figures in Tulsa's 63-49 victory over Wichita State Friday night in front of 1,009 fans at the Donald W. Reynolds Center. The Hurricane evened its season record to 7-7 and 1-0 in American Athletic Conference play, while the Shockers are also 7-7 overall.
Crystal Polk and Desiree Lewis had double-doubles, while Alexis Gaulden had a double-digit scoring night. Polk had 16 points and 11 rebounds, Lewis 12 points and 10 boards and Gaulden knocked down 14 points and had a team-high 4 assists.
"We thought going in that we would have an advantage in the post, but I didn't dream that our top three post players would all be in double figures. I thought our post players were patient, they didn't try to force anything, and for the most part when they had touches, they made baskets," said Tulsa head coach Matilda Mossman.
Elliott scored her 17 points in just 14 minutes, hitting 6-of-7 from the field and 5-of-5 from the free throw line. Gaulden hit all 3 of Tulsa's three-pointers, as the Hurricane finished the night knocking down just 3-of-20 from three-point range.
"I think Kendrian Elliott might be the most efficient post player in America right now. If you can get 17 points in 14 minutes, only miss one shot from the field and not miss a free throw, that's efficient," added Mossman.
The Hurricane had a season-high 19 offensive rebounds and a 38-34 edge over the Shockers in the final rebounding total. Tulsa also had the advantage for points in the paint, 38-to-30, and points off turnovers 29-to-10.
Despite Wichita Sate shooting better than Tulsa from the field and the three-point line, the Hurricane had 4 more field goals and scored 6 more points from the charity stripe than the Shockers.
Tulsa increased its 9-point halftime lead to 21 by the end of the third quarter when Gaulden's second trey of the period and third of the game gave the Hurricane a 54-33 lead heading into the final period.
Polk's quarter-opening layup gave the Hurricane its largest lead of the game at 56-33 with just 0:12 gone off the fourth period clock. Tulsa would get outscored in the final stanza, 16-to-9, but the closest that the Shockers would get was 12 points at 61-49 with two minutes remaining in the contest.
After the Shockers jumped out to a 3-0 lead to start the game, Tulsa rattled off the next 11 points for an 11-3 lead with 3:16 remaining in the first period. The Shockers closed the gap to 4 points at 15-11 before Elliott's layup at the first quarter buzzer gave the Hurricane a 17-11 lead at the break.
Tulsa increased its lead to 12 points within the first 4 minutes of the second period at 25-13. The Shockers went on a 10-2 run to cut its deficit to 4 points with 2:11 left on the first half clock, but the Hurricane scored the final 5 points of the half.
Gaulden connected on Tulsa's first three-pointer of the game at the 1:12 mark to give the Hurricane a 30-23 lead, while Polk's layup with 0:31 on the clock gave Tulsa its final halftime margin of 9 points, 32-23. Gaulden's trey snapped an 0-9 streak from behind the arc for the Hurricane in the first half, as Tulsa ended the first 20 minutes 1-of-11 from three-point range.
Polk led the way for Tulsa in the first half with 10 points, while Lewis added 7 points and a team-high 8 rebounds. The Hurricane grabbed 10 offensive rebounds to WSU's 4 and outscored the Shockers in the paint 22-10 and points off turnovers 14-5. Wichita State's Jaida Hampton led all first-half scorers with 12 points.
Tulsa will be back at the Reynolds Center next Wednesday for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff against the Memphis Tigers.
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