USF Has Fourth Quarter Surge to Capture 59-48 Win Over Tulsa

Saturday, February 16

Tampa, Fla.

12:00 pm

Tulsa

11-13, 5-6AAC

USF

13-12, 4-7AAC

Tulsa

USF

USF Has Fourth Quarter Surge to Capture 59-48 Win Over Tulsa

2/16/2019 2:02:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

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

Tulsa led for over 25 minutes, but USF outscored Tulsa, 16-2, in the fourth quarter to earn a 59-48 win over TU on Saturday afternoon at the Yuengling Center in Tampa, Fla. The Golden Hurricane fell to 11-13 on the season and 5-6 in American Athletic Conference play, while the Bulls moved to 13-12 overall and 4-7 in the league.

"We weren't slowing down and shooting at a pace we were comfortable with in the fourth quarter, which allowed them to chip at our lead and take their own," Head Coach Matilda Mossman said. "I liked the way our kids battled. We fought and we rebounded, but the big difference was the fact that we went 1-of-7 from the free throw line and they go 11-of-16. They got 10 more points from the free throw line and we lost by 11."

Kendrian Elliott earned her sixth career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, while Alexis Gaulden added a team-high 11 points and six assists. Desiree Lewis and Crystal Polk both tallied six points in the game, while Morgan Brady posted five.

USF went on a 7-0 run to start the fourth quarter to take a 50-46 lead at the 7:26 mark, and climbed to their largest lead to close out the contest with the 11-point win. Tulsa shot just 8-percent in the fourth quarter after shooting 40-percent in the first three frames.

TU ended the game shooting 34-percent from the field, 45-pecent from behind the arc, and 14-percent from the free throw line, while the Bulls shot 38-percent from the field, 23-percent from three-point range and 68-percent from the free throw line.

Tulsa made it's first four shots for a 9-4 lead at the 7:59 mark, and although there were two tied scores, the Hurricane never allowed USF to take the lead in the quarter. TU had a 19-14 advantage at the end of the frame, and shot a solid 53-percent in the first 10 minutes, while the Bulls shot 33-percent.

USF battled back to tie the score at 26-all after trailing by as many as 10 points (24-14) and took the lead for the first time (29-28) on a three-pointer by Enna Pehadzic with 3:23 to play in the second quarter. Elliott scored on a layup for Tulsa to tie the score at 30-30 at the 1:59 mark, and then added another one to give TU back the lead just 33-seconds later. The Hurricane would take that 32-30 lead into halftime.

Desiree Lewis scored the first basket of the third quarter, but USF went on a 7-0 run to take a 37-34 lead at the 6:51 mark. TU battled back to take a 39-37 advantage 70-seconds later and the score was tied once again at 41-all, but Tulsa owned a 46-43 lead with one quarter to play.

USF had a narrow 40-39 edge in rebounds and a 10-1 advantage in blocks, while both teams had five steals.

The Bulls were led by Pehadzic with 20 points, while Luize Septe added 16 points, and Tamara Henshaw had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Tulsa will return to action on Wednesday, February 20 at Cincinnati. Game time is set for 6:00 pm Central in Cincinnati, Ohio.