Tulsa Advances to The American Quarterfinals with 61-50 Win over Wichita State

Friday, March 8

Mohegan Sun - Uncasville, Conn.

5:00 pm

Tulsa

13-17

Wichita State

12-18

Wichita State

Tulsa

Tulsa Advances to The American Quarterfinals with 61-50 Win over Wichita State

3/8/2019 7:53:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

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

Crystal Polk, Rebecca Lescay, Maddie Bittle and Alexis Gaulden all scored in double figures to lead Tulsa to a 61-50 win over Wichita State in the American Athletic Conference First Round on Friday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. TU moved to 13-17 on the season, while WSU ended their season 12-18 overall.

Tulsa will take on No. 2 seed UCF on Saturday, March 9 at 5:00 pm Central in The American quarterfinals. The two teams met just once during the regular season, with the Knights capturing a 60-44 win in Orlando.

"I just like to say how proud I am of our guys," Head Coach Matilda Mossman said. "The way they fought and handled the pressure, especially in the 4^th quarter, was great. They got to us a little bit, but even though we weren't scoring we were getting stops and maintained the lead. I am proud of our effort defensively and offensively."

Polk had a game-best 19 points, and added a team-high eight rebounds, while shooting 58-percent from the field and 83-percent from the free throw line. Lescay added 13 points and three steals, while Gaulden posted 10 points, nine assists, six rebounds and three steals on the night.

Bittle, who made her first appearance on the court after missing a month due to injury, practiced just two times before coming out tonight. She hit 3-of-4 from three-point range and 2-of-2 from the line for her 11 points.

Tulsa had a 14-4 lead in assists and a 4-3 edge in blocks, while WSU had a 37-32 advantage in rebounds. Both teams had seven steals.

Tulsa had 22 points in the paint, 16 points off turnovers and 13 points off the bench, while Wichita State had 18 points in the paint, 11 points off turnovers and 14 points off the bench. The largest scoring advantage for the Shockers came through second chance points as they had a 12-5 edge.

At the end of the first quarter, Tulsa had an 18-13 lead over Wichita State, and Polk already had eight points. Both teams shot 38.5-percent (5-of-13) in the first 10 minutes, but it was TU's 8-of-9 shooting from the free throw line that gave them the advantage. The Shockers were just 2-of-4 from the line.

The Golden Hurricane took a 34-26 lead into halftime on a last-second three-pointer by Lescay. This was her second buzzer beater on the season and second career three as she also hit one from behind the arc against ECU. Tulsa shot a solid 42-percent in the second frame and held WSU to just 29-percent.

Tulsa climbed to a 10-point lead, 38-28, at the 6:32 mark of the third quarter, and had a 15-point advantage, 40-35, with 2:26 to play in the frame. With one quarter to play, TU was leading 47-35 and had three players in double figures.

Tulsa climbed to a game-high 16-point lead (53-37) with 6:46 in the contest. Wichita State cut their deficit to just single digits, coming within nine three times in the final 2:23 of the game, but Tulsa captured the 11-point victory.

The Shockers were led by Seraphine Bastin with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Carla Bremaud tallied 10 points.

Tulsa shot 38-percent from the field, 37-percent from behind the arc and 86-percent (13-of-15) from the free throw line, while Wichita State shot 31-percent from the field, 25-percent from three-point range and 72-percent (16-of-22) from the free throw line.