Tulsa’s Second Half Comeback Bid Falls Short in 68-52 Loss to USF

Sunday, January 12

Reynolds Center

5:00 pm

Tulsa

5-11,0-3AAC

USF

10-6,2-0AAC

South Fla.

Tulsa

Tulsa’s Second Half Comeback Bid Falls Short in 68-52 Loss to USF

1/12/2020 7:36:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Box Score in PDF l Season Stats in PDF l Photo Gallery

Tulsa was down by five, 57-52, with 2:49 to play, but the Golden Hurricane's comeback bid fell short as USF claimed a 68-52 victory on Sunday night at the Donald W. Reynolds Center. The Golden Hurricane fell to 5-11 on the season and 0-3 in American Athletic Conference play, while the Bulls moved to 10-6 overall and 2-0 in the league.

Alexis Gaulden had a team-leading 19 points as she tied her career-high of five three-point field goals made. Gaulden was the only Tulsa player to score a trey as the rest of the team combined for 0-of-9. Rebecca Lescay added 14 points, while Gaulden had six rebounds and six steals.

"We talked a lot at halftime about not playing the way we needed to play to be successful," Head Coach Matilda Mossman. "We were not patient on offense and we took some bad shots so we have to be disciplined. In the second half we played hard, were disciplined, and they did the things we asked them to do, and we doubled the score on them in the third quarter. It was neck-to-neck in the fourth quarter until they closed out with the 11-point run. I was proud of how we rebounded with them and only allowed them six offensive rebounds, as well as proud of our defense throughout the game."

After being down by as many as 20 points, 36-16, at the 2:09 mark of the second quarter, Tulsa battled back in the third quarter to cut their deficit in half, 47-37, with 1:13 to play in the frame. On a pair of free throws made by Gaulden, TU was within eight, 47-39, at the end of the period. The Hurricane outscored the Bulls, 20-9, in the quarter on 54-percent shooting, after a dismal 23-percent in the first half.

TU pulled to within four, 47-43, with 8:13 on the clock in the final frame, but USF climbed back up to an eight-point lead, 51-43, at the 6:42 mark. A pair of made free throws by Elliott and a put-back layup by Lescay and Tulsa was back to just a four-point deficit, 51-47, at the 6:10 mark, but TU would never get closer than that.

Tulsa had a 14-9 advantage in steals, but USF had a 35-33 lead in rebounds, a 14-6 advantage in assists and a 6-1 lead in blocks.

Tulsa shot just 30-percent from the field, including 29-percent from behind the arc, and 60-percent from the free throw line, while USF shot 48-percent from the field, 50-percent from three-point range and 65-percent from the line.

USF jumped out to a 7-0 lead at the 6:17 mark, but TU countered with their own 7-0 run to even the score with 4:30 on the clock in the first quarter. The Bulls then outscored the Hurricane, 12-2, to close out the frame with a 19-9 advantage.

The Bulls owned a 19-10 scoring advantage in the second quarter for a 38-19 lead at the break.

USF was led by Sydni Harvey with 20 points, while Kristyna Brabencova added 17 points, Bethy Mununga had nine rebounds and Elisa Pinzan had seven assists.

Tulsa will return to action on Wednesday, January 15 at Wichita State beginning at 6:30 pm.