Tulsa vs. #4/5 UConn Preview

Sunday, January 19

Storrs, Conn.

11:00 am

Tulsa

UConn

Tulsa vs. #4/5 UConn Preview

1/17/2020 5:37:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Sunday, January 19 ~ 11:00 am Central ~ Gampel Pavilion ~ Storrs, Conn.

Game Notes: Tulsa

Radio: TU's games can be heard on 93.5 FM The Jet, KWTU 88.7 FM HD2 and free on the iHeart Radio App. Brandon Hart calls play-by-play.

Live Audio: Listen Here

Live Video: ESPN 3

Live Stats: Click Here

Rosters: Tulsa ~ UConn

2019-20 Season Stats: Tulsa ~ UConn

Tulsa Facebook: TulsaHurricane ~ TulsaWBasketball

Tulsa Twitter: TulsaHurricane ~ TUWBasketball

Tulsa Instagram: TulsaHurricanePics ~ TulsaWBB

The Coaches
Tulsa: Matilda Mossman (Western Kentucky, 1979), 9th Year
Career Record: 257-246 (17 years)
Record at Tulsa: 110-153 (9 years)

UConn: Geno Auriemma (West Chester, 1981), 35th Year
Career Record: 1077-140 (35 years)
Record at UConn: same

Tulsa's Probable Starters
F          00        Kendrian Elliott, 6-2, Sr., Wichita, Kan., 15.6 ppg, 8.9 rpg
F          4          Addison Richards, 6-2, Sr., Bixby, Okla., 7.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg
G         10        Alexis Gaulden, 5-8, Sr., Broken Arrow, Okla., 8.6 ppg, 4.5 apg
G         11        Maddie Bittle, 5-8, So., Bixby, Okla., 6.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg
G         21        Rebecca Lescay, 5-8, Jr., Plano, Texas, 7.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg

UConn's Probable Starters
F          3          Megan Walker, 6-1, Jr., Chesterfield, Va., 20.3 ppg, 9.1 rpg
G         5          Crystal Dangerfield, 5-5, Sr. Murfreesboro, Tenn., 15.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg
G         13        Christyn Williams, 5-11, So., Little Rock, Ark., 16.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg
F          20        Olivia Nelson-Ododa, 6-5, So., Winder, Ga., 11.6 ppg, 9.2 rpg
F          25        Kyla Irwin, 6-2, Sr., State College, Pa., 3.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg

In the Last Game

After shooting a solid 42.9-percent in the first quarter, Tulsa was just 10-of-42 for 23.8-percent in the remaining three quarters, while the Shockers started the game at just 14-percent and was 44-percent in the final three frames for a 57-46 win on Wednesday night at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan.
Kendrian Elliott had her eighth double-double of the season and 14th of her career as she finished with team-bests of 16 points and 11 rebounds. Alexis Gaulden added eight points and five assists, while Maddie Bittle had seven points and Rebecca Lescay earned three steals.

Facing UConn

UConn is 15-1 on the season, including a 6-0 mark in league play
Four Huskies are averaging double-digit points, including Megan Walker (20.3), Christyn Williams (16.1), Crystal Dangerfield (15.7) and Olivia Nelson-Ododa (11.6)
Nelson-Ododa pulls down a team-high 9.2 rebounds per game, while Walker records 9.1 rpg
Dangerfield has a team-best 57 assists and 31 steals, and Nelson-Ododa has 64blocks
UConn has won all nine games against Tulsa

In the Nation

Tulsa ranks...
- 46 in steals (162)
- 82 in steals per game (9.5)
- 96 in turnovers forced (18.29)
- 113 in turnover margin (2.06)
- 124 in assists (224)
- 134 in 3-point field goals attempted (318)
- 143 in blocked shots (54)
Kendrian Elliott ranks...
- 16 in double-doubles (8)
- 25 in field goal percentage (.572)
- 37 in minutes played (592:52)
- 39 in rebounds (151)
- 58 in field goals made (103)
- 68 in rebounds per game (8.9)
- 72 in blocked shots (26)
- 77 in points (266)
- 89 in minutes played per game (34.88)
- 100 in blocked shots per game (1.53)
- 129 in free throw attempts (73)
- 135 in points per game (15.6)
Alexis Gaulden ranks...
- 55 in steals (37)
- 63 in assists (73)
- 65 in steals per game (2.31)
- 74 in assists per game (4.6)
Rebecca Lescay ranks...
- 114 in steals (32)
- 190 in steals per game (1.88)
NOTE: Above NCAA Rankings include games through 1/15/20.

An Accurate Shot

Kendrian Elliott ranks fifth (.503 = 292-582) among the school's-best field goal shooters
Maddie Bittle ranks among the best in free throw percentage, coming in at fourth with a 85.7-percent clip (30-35)

Double-Doubles, Rebounds and Blocks

Kendrian Elliott has recorded 14 double-doubles in her career, including eight this season, to rank third in school history in her career and ninth in a single season
Elliott has 599 rebounds, ranking eighth in school history
Elliott has 75 blocks, ranking eighth in school history

Knocking Down Three's and Getting Assists

Alexis Gaulden has knocked down 163 three-pointers in her career, which ranks in fourth place on the school's all-time list
Gaulden needs three more to tie former Tulsa standout Megan Moody (2002-06) who has 166 three's
Gaulden also ranks among the schools' top 10 in assists with 311 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 15.6 points per game
Elliott's 266 points this season is the most in a single season in her career with 12 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 7.5 points per game
Richards' 128 points this season is already more than her previous three years combined with 12 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 (.572) and eighth in double-doubles (8)

1,000 Point Watch

Alexis Gaulden and Kendrian Elliott both could reach the 1,000-point mark this season
Gaulden has 969 points, needing just 31 more points
Elliott has 776 points, needing 224 more points in the next 13 games. She needs to average just over 17 points per game to reach that mark.
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.