No. 1 vs. No. 2 in the American as Temple Hosts Tulsa

GAME 29:
TULSA (20-8, 10-5 AAC) vs. TEMPLE (17-10, 11-4 AAC)
Wednesday • Feb. 28, 2024 • 6 p.m. (CT) /7 p.m. (ET)
Liacouras Center (10,000), Philadelphia, Pa.

RADIO: 93.5 The Jet
LIVE STATS: Click Here
TV: ESPN+
GAME NOTES: Tulsa I Temple

THE COACHES:
Tulsa: Angie Nelp (Colorado State '02), 3^rd year
Career Record: 54-32 (3 years)
School Record: same

Temple: Diane Richardson (Frostburg State '80)
Career Record: 108-94 (7 years)
School Record: 28-28 (2 years)

Tulsa's Probable Starters
0     G       Katia Gallegos, 5-7, Sr-1L, El Paso, Texas, 6.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.8 apg
2     F        Temira Poindexter, 6-1, Jr-2L, Sapulpa, Okla., 20.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg
5     G       Delanie Crawford, 5-11, Jr-2L, Piedmont, Okla., 19.3ppg, 5.9 rpg
21   F        Hadley Periman, 6-2, So-1L, Tuttle, Okla., 2.8 ppg, 6.9 rpg
22   G       Mady Cartwright, 5-10, Fr-HS, Greenwood, Ark., 6.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg

Temple's Probable Starters
2     G       Aleah Nelson, 5-6, 5^th, Baltimore, Md., 12.3, ppg, 3.2 rpg, 4.0 apg
14   F        Ines Piper, 6-0, Sr., Paris France, 7.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg
21   F        Rayne Tucker, 6-1, Sr-RS, New Carrollton, Md., 8.0 ppg, 8.1 rpg
22   G       Tarriyonna Gary, 5-8, Sr., Brooksville, Fla., 8.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg
55   G       Tiarra East, 5-10, Jr., Louisville, Ky., 12.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg

Facing Temple
•       This is the 16^th meeting between Tulsa and Temple.
•       Temple leads the series 11-4 and won the earlier meeting this year in Tulsa 58-48 on Jan. 6.
•       In that game, Tulsa held a 31-22 halftime lead, but Temple outscored the Hurricane in the second half 36-17 for the 10-point win.
•       Temple has a 4-3 record at home, while Tulsa has won three of the last four games in Philadelphia, including a 69-57 win last year.
•       Tulsa is 1-6 at home and 0-1 at a neutral site.
•       Temple and Tulsa will square-off on Wednesday night in a game featuring the No. 1 Owls at 11-4 and the second-place Hurricane at 10-5.

Tulsa 10-5 in AAC Play, Moves into Second Place Tie
•     Tulsa has a 10-5 American Athletic Conference record.
•     The Hurricane has moved into a second-place tie with North Texas with identical 10-5 record, one game behind league leader Temple.
•     The Hurricane opened the AAC season with two straight wins, before falling twice to even the league record at 2-2.
•     Tulsa is 7-1 at home and 3-4 on the road in league play.
• Tulsa won four straight AAC games with wins at FAU and Charlotte and home wins against Wichita State and Rice, before losing at ECU then rebounding against first-place North Texas.
• In the last five games starting on Feb. 1, Tulsa won its four home games and lost its two road games.

A Closer Look into Tulsa's 10-5 AAC Record
• In Tulsa's 10 AAC wins, the Hurricane has averaged 76.1 points (761), while holding the opposition to 65.9 points (659) for a 10.2-win margin.
• Tulsa is shooting 44.9% from the field (264-588), 40.8% from 3-point range (109-267) and 70.9% from the free throw line (124-175).
•    Tulsa had season-highs in AAC play of 50% from the field vs. Wichita State (1-20), 59% from 3-point range against Rice (1/24) and an .842 free throw percentage vs. Rice (1/24)
•     In the five losses, Tulsa has shot just 35.5% (97-273) from the field, 23.1% from 3-point range (28-121) and 58.8% from the free throw line (57-97).

Tulsa Reaches 20 Wins
•     For just the second time in school history Tulsa has reached 20 victories.
•     The last 20-win season Tulsa posted a 26-6 record and NCAA appearance in the 2005-06 season.
•     Tulsa has now posted three-straight winning seasons, the second-most in school history behind four straight winning seasons from 2001-06.

Crawford Joins Poindexter for 1,000 Career Points & 500 on the Season
•    Delanie Crawford and Temira Poindexter have reached some career milestones in just their junior seasons.
•    Earlier this season, Poindexter reached 1,000 career points and is now ranked 5^th on the school's career scoring chart with 1,400 points.
•    Crawford joined Poindexter and became just the 13^th player in school history to reach 1,000 career points as she scored 29 points at Wichita State (2/17) … she now has 1,069 career points for 13^th place on the school's career scoring chart.
•    Both players have also scored 500+ points on the season … there now is a total of seven 500+ scorers in a single season in Tulsa history, as Poindexter and Crawford have become the fourth and fifth players to do so.
•    They are the first pair of teammates to reach 500 points in the same season.
•    Against UTSA (2/14), Poindexter surpassed 500 points in a season and now has 574 points, while Crawford surpassed 500 points against UAB (2/21) and has 539 points.
•    Only Jillian Robbins (3 years), Taleya Mayberry (1 year) and Allison Curtin (1 year) are the other players with a 500+ scoring season … Curtin and Mayberry surpassed 600+ points in that season.

Fastbreak Points
•    Tulsa's 20 wins is the second 20+ win season for Tulsa and only other since the 2005-06 season.
•    The Hurricane has made 10+ three-pointers in each of the last three games. and a total of 10 games this season.
•    Tulsa has reached over 17 wins for the third straight year, all under Angie Nelp … the previous two seasons Tulsa finished the season with 17 wins.
•    Tulsa is 13-3 when leading after the first quarter and 15-4 when leading at halftime.
•    The Hurricane is 8-0 when two players reach 20 points in the same game, including 7-0 when the two players are Delanie Crawford and Temira Poindexter.
•    In Angie Nelp's three seasons, Tulsa has knocked down double-digit three-pointers in 34 of 86 games, including – nine in 2021-22, 15 in 2022-23 and 10 this year.
•    With a 54-32 coaching record, Nelp has won the most games of any Tulsa coach in their first three seasons.

Tulsa Takes Down USF for First-Ever Win Over the Bulls
•     Delanie Crawford and Temira Poindexter combined for 51 points to lead Tulsa's come-from-behind 72-65 victory over South Florida (2/25).
•     It was the fourth straight home game that Tulsa trailed by double-figures and came back for the win.
•      Tulsa trailed 32-16 at the 7:03 mark of the second quarter but trimmed that 16-point deficit to three points, 35-32, at the intermission.
•     Tulsa had its largest lead of seven points, 68-61, with 3:28 let in the game.
•     Crawford scored Tulsa's final 10 points on two treys and 4-of-4 free throws to preserve the win.

Tulsa Overcomes 15-Point Deficit and Builds a 15-Point Lead
•     In Tulsa's win over UAB (2/21), both teams built 15-point leads … UAB had a 15-point lead with 7:19 remaining in the second quarter.
•     Tulsa completely erased that lead by the end of the period to hold a 42-41 halftime lead, outscoring the Blazers 21-5.
•     Tulsa took its 15-point lead at the 3:56 mark of the final quarter and held a double-digit lead until the final buzzer.
•     In the contest, Tulsa shot a season-high 56-percent from three-point range (14-of-25) while holding the Blazers to nearly 10-percent under its season average of .367 to .280 percent on 7-of-25 treys.

Two More Comebacks
•      In 15 of 20 wins this year, Tulsa has trailed at one point or another in those games.
•      Tulsa has had double-figure deficits in seven of those games, all wins – UCA, Florida, Southeastern Louisiana, North Texas, UTSA, UAB and South Florida.
•      In their last two games – UAB and South Florida – Tulsa had its highest double-digit deficits in both games … 15 against UAB and 16 against USF, both of those deficits coming in the second quarter
•      In the latest comeback, Tulsa came back from its biggest deficit as USF held a 16-point lead in the second quarter.
•      Against UAB, Tulsa was down by a season-high 15 points in the 2^nd quarter against UAB, only to come back and build a 15-point lead of its own in the final stanza.
•      Tulsa trailed in all these games at one point (with the largest deficits listed) – Lindenwood (2 pts, 3^rd QTR), Northwestern State (2 pts, 1^st QTR), UAPB (10 pts, 3^rd QTR), Clemson (12 pts, 2^nd QTR), UCA (8 pts, 3^rd QTR), Florida (6 pts, 4^th QTR), Texas Tech (2 pts, 1^st QTR), Southeastern Louisiana (10 pts, 3^rd QTR), Memphis (9 pts, 2^nd QTR), FAU (5 pts, 3^rd QTR), Charlotte (2 pts, 3^rd QTR), North Texas (10 pts, 4^th QTR), UTSA (13 pts, 4^th QTR), UAB (15 pts, 2^nd QTR) and South Florida (16 pts, 2^nd QTR).

A Closer Look into the 4^th Quarter Comebacks
•      Here's a closer look at what happened in Tulsa's five fourth quarter come-from-behind victories …
•      Against UCA, Tulsa trailed by two points at the 4:47 mark before Madi Cartwright hit a 3-pointer at the 4:05 mark to give Tulsa the lead for good in a 60-58 win.
•      In the Florida game, Temira Poindexter's two free throws at the 3:38 mark cut a one-point deficit to a tie game at 62-62, before Ahrray Young's layup at the 2:56 mark gave Tulsa the lead for good in a 72-64 victory.
•      Against SE Louisiana, Tulsa trailed by 10 at the 7:48 mark of the third quarter, by four with 6:34 remaining and by one point with 0:04 on the clock … Delanie Crawford's two free throws with 0:01 left gave Tulsa a 48-47 win.
•       In the North Texas game, Tulsa trailed 67-57 with 5:03 left … Katia Gallegos' layup at the
4:36 mark began a rally that saw Tulsa tie the score at 69 with 2:09 left and go on for the 5-point win, 79-74, by outscoring UNT 12-5 in the final five minutes.
•    Against UTSA, Tulsa trailed by 13 points, 66-53, at the seven-minute mark of the final frame … Poindexter's 3-pointer with 5:21 to play began a 21-4 Tulsa run to close-out the come-from-behind victory. … Cartwright followed with a 3-pointer and Crawford's fastbreak layup that trimmed the UTSA lead to 66-62 in just a span of 1:12 … Tulsa finished the game on a 10-1 run for a 74-70 win.

Poindexter Goes for Fourth 30-Point Game, Ties for AAC Lead
•     Temira Poindexter had her fourth career 30+ scoring game, all coming this year, with 30 points against UAB (2/21).
•     She converted 9-of-16 from the field, 5-of-8 behind the arc and 7-of-7 from the free throw line against the Blazers.
•     Poindexter had her third career 30+ scoring game with a career-high 33 points at Rice (2/10).
•     She connected on 11-of-22 field goals and 10-of-11 free throws, while adding 10 rebounds.
•     Poindexter also had 30 points vs. New Orleans (11/10) and 31 vs. Wichita State (1/20).
•     She now is tied for the most 30-point scoring games in the AAC with ECU's Danae McNeal.

Crawford Follows Poindexter's 30 with 30 of Her Own, 25 in the Second Half
•     In the game after Poindexter reached 30 against UAB, junior teammate Delanie Crawford went for 30 of her own against South Florida.
•     Crawford exploded in the second half for 25 of Tulsa's 40 points, after she was limited to five points in seven minutes in foul-troubled first half.
•     Crawford has now score 30 points in three games this year.

Nelp Reaches 50 Wins
•     Tulsa's Angie Nelp won her 50^th career game in her three seasons with a 65-55 win at Charlotte.
•     She now has a 54-32 record in her three years at Tulsa.
•     No previous Tulsa coach had reached 50 wins in their first three seasons … only three other Tulsa head coaches won more than 50 games in their careers.

More on the Junior Duo of Crawford & Poindexter
•     Temira Poindexter and Delanie Crawford have made one formidable tandem for Tulsa.
•       The duo has combined to average 39.8 points for 56.6-percent of Tulsa's total points.
•       They have become the first pair of Tulsa players in the same season with multiple 30+ scoring games in school history, including four for Poindexter and three for Crawford.
•       They are also the second pair to score 400+ points in the same season and the first pair to score 500+ points in the same year… Jillian Robbins (573) and Megan Moody (417) in 2005- 06 were the only other 400+ scorers.
•       Poindexter now has 574 points and Crawford 539.
•       Poindexter and Crawford have combined for 30 20+ scoring games this season.
•       The tandem is totaling 55.4-percent of Tulsa's field goals made, 59.7-percent of the team's
treys and 59.2-percent from the free throw line.
•       The have also combined for 32.2-percent of Tulsa's rebounds and 34.0-percent of Tulsa's assists.
•      The pair ranks first and third in the American Athletic Conference for scoring – Poindexter (20.5) ranks first and Crawford (19.3) is third.

3-Point Plateau
•     Delanie Crawford and Temira Poindexter have combined for 318 career three-pointers made.
•     The duo has made 144 three-pointers this season.
•     Crawford's 79 treys this season is a new single-season record breaking the previous mark of 77 set by Athena Pirpich in the 2000-01 season.
•     Poindexter's 65 treys three-pointers this year is the 7^th most in a single season.
•     In their careers, Crawford has made 164 career treys to rank 6^th on the career list, while Poindexter's 161 ranks 7^th on the school's all-time list.

Among the League Leaders
•       Temira Poindexter and Delanie Crawford are first and third, respectively, in the American Athletic Conference for scoring with 20.5 and 19.2 averages.
•       With 17 20+ scoring games, Poindexter leads the AAC in that category, while Crawford's 13 20+ scoring games is second in the league … Poindexter's four 30+ games is tied for most in the AAC and Crawford's three ties for second.
•       Crawford's and Hadley Periman's four 10+ rebounding games ties for eighth-most in the AAC for games with 10+ rebounds.
•       Crawford's four double-doubles is tied for the eighth-most in the AAC.
•       Crawford is ranked third in the league for free throw percentage (.823), third for 3-point field goal percentage (.409) and seventh for field goal percentage (.454).
•       Poindexter is ranked third in the AAC for blocked shots (39/1.39 pg) and Hadley Periman is ranked seventh (36/1.29 pg).

Going for 20
•      Tulsa players have now combined for 31 games of scoring 20+ points this season.
•      Temira Poindexter has 17 20+ scoring games, Delanie Crawford 13 and Ahrray Young one. Poindexter and Crawford have combined for 28 of those 20+ scoring performances this season, while Poindexter and Ahrray Young combined for one.
•      Tulsa is 8-0 when two players reach the 20-point mark… Poindexter and Crawford have seven games where they each score 20+ points in the same game, including against Lindenwood, New Orleans, Clemson, Florida, Rice, North Texas and USF … Ahrray Young and Poindexter each had 20+ points vs. Tulane.
•       Poindexter has recorded 32 career games with 20+ points and Crawford has 14.
•       Ahrray Young is the only other Hurricane player with a 20+ scoring game in a Tulsa uniform … she had 20 this year vs. Tulane.

Poindexter Moving Up Career Lists
•       Temira Poindexter ranks on the school's all-time top-10 lists for points (1,400) in fifth place, blocks (134) for fourth place, field goals made (510) for fifth place and 3-point field goals made (161) for seventh place.
•       Poindexter averages 16.2 points in 85 career games.
•       She became just the 12^th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau.
•       She reached the 1,000-point mark by scoring 15 points at TCU on Dec. 1, which was her 66^th career game played … she became the second-fastest to reach 1,000 career points, behind Jillian Robbins (2003-07), who accomplished the feat in 63 games.

More on Poindexter
•    Temira Poindexter has now scored in double-digits in all 28 games this year and for the 73^rd time in 86 career games.
•    She has scored in double digits in her last 32 games dating back to last season.
•    Poindexter has 17 games with 20+ points this season and 32 times in her career.
•    She had her fourth 30+ scoring game of the season and her career with 30 against UAB (2/21).
•    Poindexter has scored in double digits in the first half of a game 13 times this season –– 15 at Lindenwood, 16 vs. New Orleans, 18 vs. UAPB, 16 vs. #25 Mississippi State, 13 at TCU, 12 vs. UCA, 10 vs. Texas Tech, 17 vs. Tulane, 11 at FAU, 11 at East Carolina, 13 at Rice, 15 vs. UAB and 14 vs. USF.
•    Poindexter had her seventh career double-double with 33 points and 10 rebounds against Rice (2/10).

More on Crawford
•       Delanie Crawford has been consistent for the Hurricane this season … she is not only scoring 19.3 points per game to rank second on the roster and third in the American Athletic Conference, but the junior has done it efficiently.
•       Crawford has a .454 field goal percentage, .409 from three-point range and .823 from the charity stripe.
•       She had her third 30+ scoring night with 30 points against South Florida (2/25).
•       Crawford surpassed the 1,000-point plateau against Wichita State and now has 1,069 points in 83 career games and now ranks 13^th on the school's all-time scoring chart
•       In 15 AAC games, Crawford has scored 20.8 points, while shooting .436 from the field, .410 from behind the arc and .845 from the free throw line.
•       Overall, Crawford is also second on the team for rebounds (164) for a 5.9 average and leads Tulsa in assists with 75 for a 2.7 average.
•       Crawford has 25 double-digit scoring games and leads Tulsa with four double-figure rebounding games and four double-doubles.
•       Against Rice (1/24) with the score tied 65-65, Crawford hit four straight free throws in the final 0:29 to help secure the win for the Hurricane.
•       Crawford scored 20 of Tulsa's 48 points against SE Louisiana, and the most important ones came with 0:01 left in the game when she made 2-of-2 free throws for a 48-47 victory.
•       Crawford is sixth on the school's career 3-point field goals made list with 164.

No. 1 vs. No. 2 in the American as Temple Hosts Tulsa

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Mady Cartwright

Delanie Crawford

Katia Gallegos

Hadley Periman

Temira Poindexter

Ahrray Young