Tulsa vs. Florida Atlantic Preview
11/24/2021 6:55:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Friday, November 26, 2021 ~ 11:00 am Central ~ FAU Arena ~ Boca Raton, Fla.
Game Notes: Tulsa
Radio: TU's games can be heard on 93.5 FM The Jet and free on the iHeart Radio App. Brandon Hart calls play-by-play.
Live Audio: Listen Here
Live Video: The Tulsa-FAU game will be broadcast on ConferenceUSA.com/watch. It is a paid video broadcast.
Live Stats: Click Here
Rosters: Tulsa ~ FAU
2021-22 Season Stats: Tulsa ~ FAU
Tulsa Facebook: TulsaHurricane ~ TulsaWBasketball
Tulsa Twitter: TulsaHurricane ~ TUWBasketball
Tulsa Instagram: TulsaHurricaneAthletics ~ TulsaWBB
The Coaches
Tulsa: Angie Nelp (Colorado State, 2002), 1st Year
Career Record: 4-0 (1st year)
Record at Tulsa: Same
FAU: Jennifer Sullivan (Memphis, 2005), 1st Year
Record: 2-2 (1st year)
Record at FAU: same
Tulsa's Probable Starters
G 10 Maya Mayberry, 5-8, Sr-1L, Tulsa, Okla., 15.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg
G 11 Maddie Bittle, 5-8, Sr-3L, Bixby, Okla., 4.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg
G 12 Wyvette Mayberry, 5-7, So-1L, Tulsa, Okla., 9.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg
F 13 Jessika Evans, 6-0, So-1L, Norman, Okla., 8.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg
G 21 Rebecca Lescay, 5-8, Sr-4L, Plano, Texas, 8.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg
FAU's Probable Starters
G 1 Rita Pleskevich, 5-8, Sr, Moscow, Russia, 13.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg
G 23 Kynadi Kuykendoll, 5-7, Jr, Memphis, Tenn., 2.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg
F 30 Janeta Rozentale, 6-0, Jr, Dobeles, Latvia, 10.8 ppg, 8.0 rpg
F 32 Amber Gaston, 6-2, Sr, Vicksburg, Miss., 15.0 ppg, 8.5 rpg
G 34 Alexa Zaph, 5-8, Jr, Jupiter, Fla., 14.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg
Facing Florida Atlantic
- Florida Atlantic has a 2-2 overall record, including a 2-0 home mark
- Four players average double-digit points, including Amber Gaston (15.0), Alexa Zaph (14.0), Rita Pleskevich (13.8) and Janeta Rozentale (10.8)
- Gaston has a team-high 8.5 rebounds per game, while Rozentale adds 8.0 rpg. Gaston also has a team-best five blocks, while Pleskevich has six steals and Kynadi Kuykendoll has 11 assists
- FAU won the only previous match up with TU, a 91-86 decision in Tulsa during the 2013-14 season when both teams were in Conference USA
Great Start
- Tulsa is off to a 4-0 start for the first time since 2004-05 season and only the second time in school history
- Freshman forward Temira Poindexter began her collegiate career with a 23-point performance against Duquesne. She had eight field goals, including two three-pointers, while hitting all five of her free throw attempts. Poindexter also added five rebounds and two assists in 29 minutes.
Leading the Way
- Maya Mayberry has a team-best 15.8 points per game, while freshman forward Temira Poindexter adds 13.0 ppg
- Poindexter and classmate Delanie Crawford both have a team-best 5.0 rebounds per game
- Rebecca Lescay and Maddie Bittle both have 13 assists, while Bittle has 10 steals
On the Roster
- TU returns eight letterwinners from last season, including four starters, and welcomed four newcomers
- The Golden Hurricane has one super senior (Rebecca Lescay), four seniors (Maddie Bittle, Elin Hrafnkelsdottir, Maya Mayberry and Madi Washington), three sophomores (Olivia Clayton, Jessika Evans and Wyvette Mayberry), and four freshmen (Delanie Crawford, Lexie Foutch, Alyssa Parmer and Temira Poindexter).
An Accurate Shot
- Maya Mayberry ranks second (.421 = 61-145) in program history for three-point field goal percentage, while Temira Poindexter is third (.400 = 6-15)
She's Stealing!
- Rebecca Lescay ranks fifth on Tulsa's all-time steals list with 184
The Mayberry Connection
- Sisters Maya and Wyvette Mayberry are both in their second seasons at TU
- Their older sister, Taleya, also played at Tulsa (2009-13) and was an assistant coach for three season (2018-21)
- The sisters were Tulsa's top two scorers during the 2020-21 season as Maya averaged a team-high 14.3 points and Wyvette scored at a 12.3 clip.
- The pair scored 46.1 percent (493 of 1,068) of Tulsa's total points during the 2020-21 season
College Graduates
- Tulsa senior Rebecca Lescay earned her bachelor's degree in marketing in 2020 and is working towards her master's degree in business analytics, while classmate Madi Washington earned her degree in psychology in 2020 and is working on her MBA.
Maddie Bittle
- According to an NCAA Division I women's basketball survey, Maddie Bittle is just one of 18 Native Americans playing collegiate basketball at the D1 level. Bittle is a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation.
Tulsa Picked Ninth in The American Preseason Coaches' Poll
- In the American Athletic Conference coaches' poll, Tulsa was picked to finish ninth by the league's coaches
- The 2021-22 predicted order of finish was South Florida, UCF, Houston, Tulane, Temple, Cincinnati, East Carolina, Wichita State, Tulsa, SMU and Memphis
Tulsa in The American Championship
- Tulsa has a 4-7 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, and lost in the first round in 2020 and 2021
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 in 2006 (W, North Carolina State; L, DePaul) 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.
Players Mentioned
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