Tulsa Women Take Down Texas Tech 66-58 at Maui Classic

Tuesday, December 19

Makawao, Hawai’i

9:00 PM

Tulsa

9-3,0-0AAC

Texas Tech

11-1,0-0Big 12

Tulsa

Texas Tech

Photo by: Region Kinden/OSU Athletics

Tulsa Women Take Down Texas Tech 66-58 at Maui Classic

12/20/2023 12:05:00 AM | Women's Basketball

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MAKAWAO, Hawai'i –– Temira Poindexter's 20 points led three players in double-figures as Tulsa held-off a late rally to claim a 66-58 victory over the Big 12's Texas Tech Red Raiders Tuesday night at Seabury Hall.

The win puts Tulsa at 9-3 on the season and gives Texas Tech its first loss for an 11-1 record. Tulsa will play it second and final game of the Maui Classic tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. (CT) against Southeastern Louisiana.

"This team is so much fun because they're just fearless," said Head Coach Angie Nelp. "They step on the floor and fearlessly compete. Any way you want to guard us we're going to attack you. I know we normally have a lot of assists and their pressure made us put the ball on the floor and our team showed adaptability to be able to play in different ways whenever one thing is taken away. I can't say enough about our defense. Our defense was just outstanding this game. We came here on a mission. It's a business trip, and I think we showed that today."

Delanie Crawford added 17 points and Ahrray Young 13 to pace the Hurricane. Poindexter also had a team-high eight rebounds, while Young, Hadley Periman and Katia Gallegos each had seven boards for the Hurricane.

Tech's Jasmine Shavers led the Red Raiders with 16 points and eight boards.

Tulsa had its way for most of the game, leading by double digits for the better part of the second, third and fourth quarters.

Tulsa's largest lead was 17 points with 4:31 remaining in the contest, but the Golden Hurricane had to hold off a furious Texas Tech comeback attempt. The Red Raiders outscored Tulsa 21-12 in the final 4:14 of the contest.

Tulsa scored just one field goal in the final four minutes but made 10-of-12 free throws in the final 1:14 to hold off the Tech rally.

Tulsa shots 42 percent from the field compared to 27 percent for the Red Raiders. Tulsa made 20-of-48 field goals, while Tech put up a whopping 70 shots, making just 19 field goals for 27 percent. Both teams shot under 25 percent from three-point range with Tulsa making just four treys and Tech five.

HOW IT HAPPENED
IN THE FIRST QUARTER . . .
After the score was tied 4-4 in the early going, Tulsa went on an 11-0 run to take a 15-4 lead with 2:49 remaining in the first quarter.

A layup by Ahrray Young with 0:33 on the game clock gave Tulsa a 17-7 lead after the first period.

All of Tulsa's scoring in the quarter came from Delanie Crawford with 7 points, and 5 each from Temira Poindexter and Young.

IN THE SECOND QUARTER . . .
Tulsa extended its lead to 14 points at 21-7 with 8:39 on the clock before Texas Tech scored the next seven points to make the score 21-14 at the 5:36 mark.

The Hurricane pushed the lead back to double digits and led by 12 points, 33-21, with 0:29 remaining in the quarter.

A Tech three-pointer with 0:18 left cut the Tulsa lead to nine points at the break, 33-24.

IN THE THIRD QUARTER . . .
Poindexter's jumper to start the fourth put Tulsa back in front by double digits, and Katia Gallegos followed with a driving layup to make it a 13-point game.

After Tech cut its lead to 11 points, both teams went the next 2:40 without scoring until Crawford's two free throws ended the drought. Mady Cartwright knocked through two free throws to make the score 41-26 with 3:32 in the period.

Tulsa stretched the lead to 16 before Tech brought it back to 12 points with under a minute left.

Tulsa's Crawford hit a big basket as time expired in the quarter to give Tulsa a 14-point lead heading into the final quarter

IN THE FOURTH QUARTER . . .
Tulsa built its lead to 17 points after Poindexter knocked down two free throws at the 4:31 mark.

In the next 0:36, Tech went on an 8-0 run to cut its deficit to nine points at 54-45 with 3:45 remaining in the game.

Poindexter's turnaround jumper in the paint put Tulsa back ahead by 11 at the 3:18 mark, but Tech quickly pushed the ball down the court to make it a nine-point game again at the 2:59 mark.

Poindexter's two-point basket was the only field goal in the final four minutes for the Hurricane, but Tulsa did convert 10-of-12 free throws in the final 1:14.

The Red Raiders outscored Tulsa 21-12 in the final 4:31 and got as close as six points twice in the last 0:38, but it was Tulsa's free throw shooting was the difference.

Young sank the final two free throws at the 0:05 mark to seal the eight-point win.

GAME NOTES
• Tulsa moves to 9-3 on the season
• The Tulsa win gave Texas Tech its' first loss of the season, dropping the Red Raiders to 11-1 on the year.
• This was only the second meeting in the series between Tulsa and Texas Tech, as the series now stands even at 1-1.
• Tulsa has now beaten teams this season from the ACC (Clemson), SEC (Florida) and Big 12 (Texas Tech).
• Tulsa made 10 of their final 12 free throws for 83% but leading up to that point shot just 63% on 12-of-19 free throws.
• With 20 points, Temira Poindexter has now reached double-digits in all 12 games this year and for the 57^th time in 70 career games.
• It was Poindexter's eighth 20+ scoring of the season and the 23^rd of her career.
• Delanie Crawford had her 10th double-figure scoring game of the season and the 36^th of her career.
• In her eighth game back after recovering from a 2023 knee injury, Ahrray Young had her fifth double-figure scoring game of the campaign with 13 points

Following tomorrow's contest against Southeastern Louisiana, Tulsa will be off until beginning American Athletic Conference play at Memphis on Dec. 30. All TU women's basketball games can be heard on 93.5 FM The Jet Radio. All home and away American Athletic Conference games can be viewed on ESPN+.