Tulsa vs. SMU Preview

Saturday, February 15

Reynolds Center

2:00 pm

Tulsa

SMU

Tulsa vs. SMU Preview

2/13/2020 12:14:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Saturday, February 15 ~ 2:00 pm Central ~ Donald W. Reynolds Center ~ Tulsa, Okla.

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

Promotions:
National Girls & Women in Sports Day – Join us for a pregame clinic in the practice court put on by some of our TU Women Student Athletes. We will be recognizing our student-athletes throughout the day!

Girl Scouts Night – Some of our local girl scouts will be setup in the main entrance selling cookies.

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: Watch Here

Live Stats: Click Here

Rosters: Tulsa ~ SMU

2019-20 Season Stats: Tulsa ~ SMU

Tulsa Facebook: TulsaHurricane ~ TulsaWBasketball

Tulsa Twitter: TulsaHurricane ~ TUWBasketball

Tulsa Instagram: TulsaHurricanePics ~ TulsaWBB

The Coaches
Tulsa: Matilda Mossman (Western Kentucky, 1979), 9th Year
Career Record: 258-252 (17 years)
Record at Tulsa: 111-159 (9 years)

SMU: Travis Mays (Texas, 1990), 4th Year
Career Record: 50-67 (4 years)
Record at SMU: same

Tulsa's Probable Starters
F          00        Kendrian Elliott, 6-2, Sr., Wichita, Kan., 13.5 ppg, 8.4 rpg
F          4          Addison Richards, 6-2, Sr., Bixby, Okla., 7.4 ppg., 2.4 rpg
G         15        KK Rodriguez, 5-6, So., St. Louis, Mo., 2.7 ppg, 2.2 rpg
G         21        Rebecca Lescay, 5-8, Jr., Plano, Texas, 6.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg
G         22        Morgan Brady, 5-7, Jr., Little Rock, Ark., 4.9 ppg, 2.3 rpg

SMU's Probable Starters
G         13        Reagan Bradley, 5-8, Fr., Little Rock, Ark., 9.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg
C         14        Paige Bayliss, 6-5, So., Queensland, Australia, 6.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg
G         24        JaQuia White, 5-8, So., DeSoto, Texas, 5.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg
G         32        Kayla White, 5-10, So., DeSoto, Texas, 10.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg
F          33        Johnasia Cash, 6-2, Jr., McKeesport, Pa., 10.4 ppg, 9.1 rpg

In the Last Game

Kendrian Elliott had a team-best 21 points, but it wasn't enough as Tulsa dropped a 78-53 decision to Cincinnati on Wednesday morning at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Elliott scored in double figures for the first time since scoring 16 against Wichita State (Jan. 15), had the most points since netting 38 against Arkansas State (Nov. 9) and was one-point shy of equaling her total from the last four games combined (22).
Destiny Johnson came in off the bench and added eight points, while Addison Richards scored five points, KK Rodriguez, Rebecca Lescay, Morgan Brady and Maddie Bittle all had four points, and Desiree Lewis posted three. Brady had a team-best four assists.
The Bearcats dominated the boards, owning a 47-33 advantage, including 18 offensive boards for 21 second-chance points.

Facing SMU

SMU is 10-13 on the season, including a 4-7 mark in league play
SMU has a 29-18 lead in the all-time series over TU, including a 57-38 win in Dallas earlier this season
Two Mustangs are averaging double-digit points, including Kayla White (10.9) and Johnasia Cash (10.4)
Cash records a team-high 9.1 rebounds per game and has 33 blocks, while Reagan Bradley has 43 steals and 103 assists

In the Nation

Tulsa ranks...
- 55 in steals (223)
- 83 in steals per game (9.3)
- 93 in turnovers forced (17.92)
- 144 in blocked shots (80)
- 146 in assists (308)
Kendrian Elliott ranks...
- 52 in field goal percentage (.527)
- 74 in blocked shots (37)
- 77 in rebounds (201)
- 94 in blocked shots per game (1.54)
- 104 in rebounds per game (8.4)
Alexis Gaulden ranks...
- 91 in assists per game (4.4)
- 106 in steals per game (2.05)
Rebecca Lescay ranks...
- 246 in steals per game (1.71)
NOTE: Above NCAA Rankings include games through 2/12/20.

An Accurate Shot

Maddie Bittle ranks among the program's best in free throw percentage, coming in at fifth with a 84.6-percent clip (33-39)
Kendrian Elliott ranks sixth (.493 = 316-641) among the school's-best field goal shooters

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 649 rebounds, ranking fifth in school history
Elliott has 86 blocks, ranking sixth in school history

Knocking Down Three's and Getting Assists

Alexis Gaulden has knocked down 164 three-pointers in her career, which ranks in fourth place on the school's all-time list
Gaulden needs two 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 321 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 13.5 points per game
Elliott's 324 points this season is the most in a single season in her career
Richards entered the season averaging 1.6 points per game in her first three seasons combined, but this year is netting 7.4 points per game
Richards' 178 points this season is more than her previous three years combined

2019-20 Single Season Marks

Kendrian Elliott and Maddie Bittle have earned their way onto the Tulsa Single-Season Leaders list
Bittle ranks ninth in free throw percentage (.864) and Kendrian Elliott ranks ninth in double-doubles (8)

1,000 Point Watch and School History Ranking

Alexis Gaulden currently has 974 points, needing just 26 more points to reach the 1,000-point mark, and ranks 12th in school history in total points
Elliott currently has 834 points and ranks 18th in school history in total points.
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 258 Career Wins

Matilda Mossman has collected 258 career victories
She has 67 wins at Arkansas, 80 wins at Kansas State and 111 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.