Sunday, December 19
Atlanta, Ga.
11:00 am
Tulsa
vs
South Alabama
Tulsa vs. South Alabama Preview
12/18/2021 7:15:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Sunday, December 19, 2021 ~ 11:00 am Central ~ GSU Sports Arena ~ Atlanta, Ga.
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 Stats: Click Here
Rosters: Tulsa ~ South Alabama
2021-22 Season Stats: Tulsa ~ South Alabama
Tulsa Facebook: TulsaHurricane ~ TulsaWBasketball
Tulsa Twitter: TulsaHurricane ~ TUWBasketball
Tulsa Instagram: TulsaHurricaneAthletics ~ TulsaWBB
The Coaches
Tulsa: Angie Nelp (Colorado State, 2002), 1st Year
Career Record: 9-0 (1st year)
Record at Tulsa: Same
South Alabama: Terry Fowler (Lane, 1986), 9th Year
Record: 327-315 (23 years)
Record at South Alabama: 129-137 (9 years)
Tulsa's Probable Starters
F 2 Temira Poindexter, 6-1, Fr-HS, Sapulpa, Okla., 13.0 ppg, 4.9 rpg
G 10 Maya Mayberry, 5-8, Sr-1L, Tulsa, Okla., 16.9 ppg, 2.3 rpg
G 11 Maddie Bittle, 5-8, Sr-3L, Bixby, Okla., 6.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg
G 12 Wyvette Mayberry, 5-7, So-1L, Tulsa, Okla., 12.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg
G 21 Rebecca Lescay, 5-8, Sr-4L, Plano, Texas, 9.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg
South Alabama's Probable Starters
G 3 Dee Haymer, 5-8, Sr, Tchula, Miss., 9.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg
G 10 Janelle Jones, 5-9, So, Pensacola, Fla., 4.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg
G 11 Nadia Howard, 5-8, Fr, Grayson, Ga., 7.5 ppg, 2.4 rpg
F 14 Kiana Anderson, 6-1, Jr, New Orleans, La., 3.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg
F 21 Casey Ferguson, 5-11, Sr, Biloxi, Miss., 3.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg
Facing South Alabama
- South Alabama has a 6-5 overall record, including a 52-51 win over Charleston Southern on Saturday
- Jaylin Powell has a team-best 11.2 points per game, while Dee Haymer has 9.0 ppg
- Zena Elias adds 9.5 ppg and has a team-leading 9.5 rebounds per game, but hasn't played since the second game of the season
- USA's Powell pulls down 4.4 rpg, while Mahogany Vaught has team-bests of 29 assists and 23 steals, and Destiny Samuel has eight blocks
- This will be the third meeting between Tulsa and South Alabama on the women's basketball court with both teams winning on their home courts dating back to the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons
Great Start
- Tulsa is off to a 9-0 start for just the first time in school history, topping the previous best of 7-0 during the 2004-05 season.
- A nine-game win streak ties the best in school history, with TU winning nine straight games during the 2005-06 campaign
In the Nation
- Tulsa ranks first in won-lost percentage (100.00; 10 teams tied), second in assist-turnover ratio (1.70), second in fewest turnovers (79), sixth in three-point field goal percentage (40.9), 10th in turnover margin (7.38), 19th in free throw percentage (78.0), 33rd in scoring margin (18.1), 36th in field goal percentage (45.7), 50th in fewest fouls (121), 56th in three-point field goals made (70), 57th in scoring defense (55.9), 64th in scoring offense (74.0), 107th in assists (134) and 135th in steals (79) in the nation.
- Maddie Bittle ranks 83rd in assist-turnover ratio (2.08) and 136th in steals per game (2.12)
- Rebecca Lescay ranks 34th in assist-turnover ratio (2.64) and 195th in assists per game (3.6)
- Maya Mayberry ranks ninth in three-point field goals made per game (3.50), 13th in three-point field goal percentage (51.2), 65th in points per game (17.7), 88th in three-point field goals made (21), 144th in field goal percentage (46.6) and 175th in free throw percentage (77.3)
- Wyvette Mayberry ranks 124th in assist-turnover ratio (1.85) and 232nd in free throw percentage (74.1)
- Temira Poindexter ranks 39th in field goal percentage (56.0), 68th in blocked shots per game (1.62) and 104th in blocked shots (13)
Leading the Way
- Maya Mayberry has a team-best 16.9 points per game, while Temira Poindexter adds 13.0 ppg and Wyvette Mayberry adds 12.1 ppg
- Delanie Crawford has a team-best 5.1 rebounds per game
- Rebecca Lescay has 34 assists, Maddie Bittle has 19 steals and Poindexter has 15 blocks
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 Career Shooter
- Temira Poindexter ranks third (.541 = 46-85) in field goal percentage
- Maya Mayberry ranks first (.435 = 70-161) in program history for three-point field goal percentage, while Temira Poindexter is second (.444 = 12-27)
- Temira Poindexter ranks first in free throw percentage (.929 = 13-14)
Scoring
- Maya Mayberry ranks eighth in school history with a 15.0 points per game average
Lescay Among Tulsa's Top-10
- Rebecca Lescay ranks fifth on Tulsa's all-time steals list with 190, seventh in games played (120), 10th in assists (257) and 20th in points (791)
Protecting the Ball
- Tulsa set a school record low of five turnovers against FAU on Nov. 26, and then bested that with just four turnovers against Missouri S&T on Dec. 8
Defensive Rebounding
- Tulsa didn't allow an offensive rebound by Missouri S&T on Dec. 8
College Graduates
- Tulsa senior Rebecca Lescay earned her bachelor's degree in marketing in 2020 and her master's degree in business analytics in December 2021, while classmate Madi Washington earned her degree in psychology in 2020 and is working on her MBA.
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
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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