Tulsa vs. USF Preview

Sunday, January 12 ~ 5:00 pm Central ~ Donald W. Reynolds Center ~ Tulsa, Okla.

Tickets: Single game tickets are $5 general admission and season passes are $50. Tickets can be purchased ONLINE, at the Reynolds Center ticket office or by calling 918.631.GoTU (4688).

Promotions:
Superheroes Day - Come to the game dressed as your favorite superhero in order to receive free admission.

Hometown Heroes - All military and first responders will receive 2 free tickets when they show their ID. The first 200 fans will receive a Hometown Hero's t-shirt.

Halftime – There will be a performance by Figueroa Jump Rope

Game Notes: Tulsa

Radio: TU's games can be heard on The Buzz 1300 AM (not the normal 93.5 FM The Jet due to a scheduling conflict), KWTU 88.7 FM HD2 and free on the iHeart Radio App. Brandon Hart calls play-by-play.

Live Audio: Listen Here

Live Video: CBS Sports Network

Live Stats: Click Here

Rosters: Tulsa ~ USF

2019-20 Season Stats: Tulsa ~ USF

Tulsa Facebook: TulsaHurricane ~ TulsaWBasketball

Tulsa Twitter: TulsaHurricane ~ TUWBasketball

Tulsa Instagram: TulsaHurricanePics ~ TulsaWBB

The Coaches
Tulsa: Matilda Mossman (Western Kentucky, 1979), 9th Year
Career Record: 257-243 (17 years)
Record at Tulsa: 110-150 (9 years)

USF: Jose Fernandez (FIU, 1994), 20^th Year
Career Record: 363-265 (20 years)
Record at USF: same

Tulsa's Probable Starters
F          00        Kendrian Elliott, 6-2, Sr., Wichita, Kan., 16.3 ppg, 9.1 rpg
F          4          Addison Richards, 6-2, Sr., Bixby, Okla., 8.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg
G         10        Alexis Gaulden, 5-8, Sr., Broken Arrow, Okla., 7.9 ppg, 4.6 apg
G         11        Maddie Bittle, 5-8, So., Bixby, Okla., 6.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg
G         21        Rebecca Lescay, 5-8, Jr., Plano, Texas, 7.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg

USF's Probable Starters
G         1          Maria Alvarez, 5-7, Fr., Bal Harbour, Fla., 8.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg
G         5          Elena Tsineke, 5-7, Fr., Thessaloniki, Greece, 12.8 ppg, 1.9 rpg
F          20        Bethy Mununga, 6-0, Jr., Zellik, Belgium, 11.3 ppg, 9.7 rpg
F          22        Kristyna Brabencova, 6-0, Fr., Brno, Czech Republic, 7.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg
F          23        Tamara Henshaw, 6-1, Sr., Palm Coast, Fla., 6.2 ppg, 7.8 rpg

In the Last Game

A jumper by Tulane forward Krystal Freeman with no time on the clock gave the Green Wave a 64-62 overtime win over Tulsa
Kendrian Elliott finished with a team-best 18 points and nine rebounds, while Alexis Gaulden added 14 points, seven assists and four steals, Rebecca Lescay netted 10 points, and Desiree Lewis posted seven rebounds and four steals.
There were eight tied scores and seven lead changes in the contest, including three tied scores and four lead changes in overtime
Tulsa owned the lead for 36:56 off the clock, Tulane just 2:28 and the game was tied for 5:36
Tulane had a 41-36 lead in rebounds and a 9-2 advantage in blocks, but Tulsa owned an 18-14 edge in assists and a 16-8 lead in steals.
After shooting a solid 53-percent in the second quarter and 44-percent in the first half, Tulsa finished just 36-percent from the field in the contest, while the Green Wave shot 45-percent from the field.

Facing USF

USF is 9-6 on the season, including a 76-68 win over Cincinnati a week ago
The Bulls have had six days without a game
Elena Tsineke and Bethy Mununga are both averaging double-digit points for USF with 12.8 and 11.3 points per game, respectively
Mununga has a team-best 9.7 rebounds per game and 14 blocks, Maria Alvarez has 49 assists, and Mununga and Alvarez both have 15 steals
USF has won all six previous meetings with the Golden Hurricane, including a 59-48 win last season in Tampa

In the Nation

Tulsa ranks...
- 66 in steals (138)
- 102 in assists (206)
- 106 in steals per game (9.2)
- 111 in turnovers forced (18.00)
- 113 in turnover margin (2.0)
- 130 in blocked shots (50)
- 136 in three-point field goal attempts (281)
- 141 in assists per game (13.7)
- 144 in assist/turnover ratio (0.86)
Kendrian Elliott ranks...
- 17 in double-doubles (7)
- 18 in field goal percentage (.596)
- 29 in rebounds (137)
- 38 in field goals made (96)
- 52 in minutes played (518:58)
- 60 in points (245)
- 60 in rebounds per game (9.1)
- 61 in blocked shots (24)
- 84 in blocked shots per game (1.60)
- 101 in points per game (16.3)
- 103 in minutes played per game (34.60)
- 143 in free throw attempts (62)
Alexis Gaulden ranks...
- 54 in assists (65)
- 71 in assists per game (4.6)
- 78 in steals (31)
- 93 in steals per game (2.21)
Rebecca Lescay ranks...
- 147 in steals (27)
- 242 in steals per game (1.80)
NOTE: Above NCAA Rankings include games through 1/8/20.

An Accurate Shot

Kendrian Elliott ranks fifth (.508 = 286-563) among the school's-best field goal shooters
Maddie Bittle ranks among the best in free throw percentage, coming in at third with a 87.9-percent clip (29-33)

Double-Doubles, Rebounds and Blocks

Kendrian Elliott has recorded 13 double-doubles in her career, including seven this season, to rank fourth in school history
Elliott has 585 rebounds, ranking eighth in school history
Elliott has 73 blocks, ranking eighth in school history

Knocking Down Three's and Getting Assists

Alexis Gaulden has knocked down 157 three-pointers in her career, which ranks in fifth place on the school's all-time list
Gaulden needs two more to tie current assistant coach Taleya Mayberry (2009-13), who is in fourth place with 159 three-pointers made
Gaulden also ranks among the schools' top 10 in assists with 303 for seventh place

Seniors Stepping Up

Kendrian Elliott and Addison Richards have really stepped up their game for their senior seasons
Elliott entered the season averaging 6.8 points per game in her first three seasons combined, but this year is netting 16.3 points per game
Elliott's 245 points this season is already her second-highest in her career with 14 regular season games to play
Richards entered the season averaging 1.6 points per game in her first three seasons combined, but this year is netting 8.1 points per game
Richards' 122 points this season is already more than her previous three years combined with 14 regular season games to play

2019-20 Single Season Marks

Kendrian Elliott and Maddie Bittle have already earned their way onto the Tulsa Single-Season Leaders list this season
Bittle ranks first in free throw percentage (.938)
Kendrian Elliott ranks third in field goal percentage (.596), ninth in double-doubles (7) and ninth in points per game (16.3)

1,000 Point Watch

Alexis Gaulden and Kendrian Elliott both could reach the 1,000-point mark this season
Gaulden has 942 points, needing just 58 more points
Elliott has 755 points, needing 245 more points. If she keeps with her average (16.3) - she needs all 14 regular season games and one American Athletic Conference tournament game to reach it, but she is determined.
There have only been 11 1,000+ point scorers in school history (see page 71-72 in the media guide for more details)

Overtime

Tulsa has played in two overtime games this season - at home against Temple (1-4-20) and at Tulane (1-8-20)
This marks the first time in school history that TU has played in back-to-back overtime games
TU has only played in two or more overtime games in a season six times, including twice in 2010-11, 2007-08, 2003-04, 2002-03 and 1997-98, while the Golden Hurricane had three overtime games during the 1999-2000 season
Tulsa's record in overtime games is 15-13
For more information on TU in overtime, see page 91 of the media guide

Record-Setting Game

Kendrian Elliott registered 38 points against Arkansas State (11-9-19), which tied the school record for points in a game set by Jillian Robbins against Nevada on February 19, 2005.
Elliott's 16 field goals made in the game was a school record, topping Robbins and Ashley Clark who both had 14 field goals made in a game

Back-to-Back-to-Back

Desiree Lewis and Kendrian Elliott have both had back-to-back-to-back double-doubles in their careers, making them the fifth and sixth player in school history to reach this milestone
Lewis is just the third to do it in her freshman year, while Elliott achieved this as a senior
Elliott had back-to-back-to-back double-doubles to start the 2019-20 season against Stephen F. Austin (13p, 12r), Arkansas State (38p, 12r) and Oklahoma State (16p, 10r)
Desiree Lewis hit back-to-back-to-back double-doubles against Wichita State (12p, 10r), Memphis (10p, 12r) and ECU (16p, 13r) in the 2018-19 season
This feat has been accomplished just 16 times in school history

Mossman Has 257 Career Wins

Matilda Mossman has collected 257 career victories
She has 67 wins at Arkansas, 80 wins at Kansas State and 110 wins at TU
Mossman has the most wins by a TU women's basketball coach
Mossman earned her 100th career win at TU in a 46-39 win over Memphis on January 9, 2019

Thirteen 2019 Postseason Teams Highlight 2019-20 Schedule

TU will take on 13 postseason teams from the 2018-19 season, including NCAA Tournament teams Abilene Christian, Little Rock, Marquette, UCF and UConn, and WNIT teams Arkansas, Cincinnati, Houston, Loyola Marymount, Stephen F. Austin, Stetson, USF and Western Kentucky.
Additionally, 23 teams posted double-digit wins last season, including nine teams with 20-or-more victories.

Freshmen Made Marks Last Year

Maddie Bittle shot 82.4-percent from the free throw line, making her the second-best freshman free throw shooter in school history (tying Morgan Brady)
Desiree Lewis played in 31 games, ranking third, had 163 rebounds, ranking fourth, and shot a .450 field goal percentage, ranking fifth, among the programs' freshmen

Tulsa Picked 10th in The American Preseason Coaches' Poll

In the American Athletic Conference coaches' poll, Tulsa was picked to finish 10th by the league's coaches
A year ago, TU ended the year ranked seventh in the league standings, a five-place jump from the predicted 12th-place finish
The 2019-20 predicted order of finish is UConn, USF, UCF, Cincinnati, Houston, Temple, Tulane, Memphis, Wichita State, Tulsa, ECU and SMU

Tulsa in The American Championship

Tulsa has a 4-5 mark in The American Championship
TU earned wins in the first round in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019
The Golden Hurricane lost matches in the quarterfinals in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019

The American Athletic Conference Championship

The American Athletic Conference and Mohegan Sun Arena have agreed to a multi-year agreement for Mohegan Sun to host the Conference's Women's Basketball Championship through 2020
The 2020 championship will mark the seventh consecutive year the tournament has been played at the Uncasville, Conn. arena

Tulsa in Postseason

Tulsa has made five postseason appearances
TU earned WNIT bids in 2004, 2005 and 2015
The Hurricane played in the NCAA Tournament in 2006 and 2013
Tulsa lost in the first round in 2004 (Memphis), 2005 (Texas A&M) and 2013 (Stanford), but went 1-1 (W, North Carolina State; L, DePaul) in 2006 and 2015 (W, Missouri State; L, Eastern Michigan)
The Hurricane has a 2-5 overall mark in postseason play

A Hurricane in Tulsa?

The Origination of The University of Tulsa nickname - Golden Hurricane - was created in 1922. A new football coach, Howard Archer came to town and inherited a slew of nicknames dating back to 1895. In the past, Tulsa had been named "Kendallites," "Presbyterians," "Tigers," "Orange and Black," "Tulsans," and of course, "Yellow Jackets." The team started working out in the fall with a new nickname "Yellow Jackets" which was apparently due to the fact that the team was wearing new black and yellow uniforms. The team opened the season and it was apparent that Tulsa was going to have a great year, and trying to seize some publicity for his team, Archer wanted to find a new nickname quickly. After a remark was made in practice one day about "roaring through opponents," and because of their new jersey colors, he thought of "Golden Tornadoes." But a check showed that Georgia Tech already had chosen that tag in 1917. From the tornado, he evolved meteorologically to the hurricane. A few days before the team left for a game against Texas A&M, Archer asked the squad to vote on the name, and thus "Golden Hurricane" was born.

Tulsa vs. USF Preview

Players Mentioned

Maddie Bittle

Morgan Brady

Ashley Clark

Kendrian Elliott

Alexis Gaulden

Rebecca Lescay

Desiree Lewis

Addison Richards

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