Tulsa Cruises Past Florida Atlantic, 79-64

Wednesday, January 15

Tulsa, Okla.

6:30 p.m.

Tulsa

9-9,3-3AAC

Florida Atlantic

9-9,1-4AAC

Fla. Atlantic

Tulsa

Photo by: Joshua Rogers

Tulsa Cruises Past Florida Atlantic, 79-64

1/15/2025 10:02:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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TULSA, Okla. — Sophomore Elise Hill and Junior Hadley Periman spearheaded a strong offensive and defensive effort as the Tulsa women's basketball defeated Florida Atlantic (9-9, 1-4 AAC) in a 79-64 decision Wednesday night in the Donald W. Reynolds Center. The Golden Hurricane evened its record at 9-9 overall and 3-3 in American Athletic Conference action.

Hill led the Hurricane with 16 points, including three three-pointers, while Periman dominated the boards, pulling down a career-high 17 rebounds and adding 10 points for a double-double. Redshirt junior Paige Bradley and sophomore Mady Cartwright chipped in with 12 points apiece, helping Tulsa secure a lead they never relinquished after the 7:10 mark in the first quarter.

Florida Atlantic struggled to find their rhythm early, shooting just 12.5% in the first quarter. Tulsa capitalized on turnovers and second-chance opportunities, scoring 34 points in the paint and 11 on second-chance shots.

Tulsa's depth proved key, with its bench contributing 21 points. The Golden Hurricane extended their lead to as much as 20 points in the fourth quarter, despite a spirited 9-0 FAU run in the second quarter that momentarily narrowed the gap.

Senior Delanie Crawford became Tulsa's fifth-highest scorer of all time Wednesday night, passing Larrissa Williams' (2006-10) 1,512 points for fifth on the all-time Hurricane points chart. She also added two 3-pointers to her career total of 232. She needs just two more to set the Tulsa career 3-point record.

"Super proud of our team," Head coach Angie Nelp said. "I'm always proud of our fight and resilience, but today, I'm just really proud of our teamwork and the way that we played together. I felt like today we were one of the most connected teams that we've been all year in the way that we shared the ball with each other, and the way that we were connected defensively and offensively. It was a true team with four players in double figures, and even within that, you see all the numbers all over the stat sheet, everybody contributing in different ways.

"It's a fun team, because when our momentum gets going, it really gets going. And you were able to see that today those threes that Elise [Hill] had, leading us with 16 points, but those back-to-back-to-back threes that she had was a huge momentum builder for us. And I felt like it was that that really sparked the rest of our team as well. I can't say enough about Hadley Periman, and we all know the fight that she has, and we know what she sees every single day when she's on the floor. She's one of our hardest workers, and she's one of the most prolific defenders in our league, one of the best defenders that you'll see, and you're seeing her showcase a lot of our offensive game as well. But to have the 17 rebounds that she had against great physicality in some of those moments was huge. And I felt like with that rebounding was a big reason, you know why we were successful today."

Mya Perry paced FAU with 20 points, including three three-pointers, and Maria Myklebust added 14 points and eight rebounds. However, FAU's shooting woes persisted throughout the game, finishing at 28.2% from the field.

HOW IT HAPPENED
IN THE FIRST QUARTER . . .
Tulsa surged out of the gate, establishing a 22-10 lead after the first 10 minutes. Florida Atlantic struggled with their shooting, managing just 12.5% from the field and committing several turnovers. Tulsa capitalized on these mistakes, scoring 10 points in the paint and 5 from fast breaks. Elise Hill and Hadley Periman set the tone early, combining for 10 points. Tulsa's defense stifled Florida Atlantic's offense, forcing difficult shots and limiting second-chance opportunities.

IN THE SECOND QUARTER . . .
Florida Atlantic showed some pushback in the second quarter, outscoring Tulsa 23-17 and narrowing the gap to 39-33 at halftime. Mya Perry and Maria Myklebust ignited a 9-0 run midway through the period, helping Florida Atlantic climb back into the contest. Tulsa shot 41.7% for the quarter but managed to maintain its lead thanks to key contributions from Jade Clack and Mady Cartwright. FAU improved their three-point shooting to 36.4% in this stretch, closing the deficit slightly.

At the break, Tulsa was 41.2% from the field (14-34), 33.3% in threes (5-15) and 75% at the line (6-8) while Florida Atlantic was 25.6% in shooting, including 31.6% in treys (6-19), 63.6% in free throws (7-11).

IN THE THIRD QUARTER . . .
Tulsa responded emphatically in the third quarter, outscoring Florida Atlantic 24-15 to take a commanding 63-48 lead. The Golden Hurricane shot an impressive 55.6% from the field, including 57.1% from beyond the arc. Elise Hill and Paige Bradley sparked Tulsa's offense, combining for 19 points in the period. FAU's shooting regressed, and turnovers allowed Tulsa to pull away, building their largest lead of the game by the quarter's end.

IN THE FOURTH QUARTER . . .
The teams played evenly in the final frame, with each scoring 16 points. Tulsa maintained control, extending its lead to 20 points at one point before FAU trimmed the margin in the closing minutes. FAU's bench provided a spark, but it was not enough to overcome Tulsa's efficient play. Tulsa relied on rebounding dominance and balanced scoring, with Hadley Periman anchoring the defense with her game-high 17 rebounds.

GAME NOTES

Tulsa improved the series with Florida Atlantic to 3-1 with wins in the last three meetings.
10 3-pointers by Tulsa marks the third consecutive game for TU having 10 or more triples in a game.
Tulsa assisted 20 of its 30 field goals.
TU won the rebound battle 49-42.
Junior Hadley Periman set a career-high of 17 rebounds. With 10 points, she earned her fourth double-double this season and in her career.
It's also Periman's fifth double-figure rebounding contest and 12^th of her career.
17 boards by Periman is the sixth-most recorded by a TU player in a conference game.
Sophomore Elise Hill's 16 points is her 11^th double-digit point game this season and 14^th of her career.
Redshirt Junior Paige Bradley put up her sixth scoring game of 10+ points this season with 12 Wednesday. It's her nineth double-figure scoring contest.
Sophomore Mady Cartwright collected 12 points for her eighth double-figure scoring game of the year and 18^th of her career.
Cartwright also led TU with five assists, tying her career-high.
Periman's three blocks moved her to 107 career rejections for seventh on the all-time TU blocks chart. She needs 14 to pass Megan Moody's (2002-06) 120 blocks for sixth.
Senior Delanie Crawford's eight points moved her to 1,514 career points, passing Larrissa Williams' (2006-10) 1,512 points for fifth on the all-time Hurricane points chart.
Crawford also had two 3-pointers Wednesday, moving to 232 career threes. She needs just two more treys to surpass the Tulsa career record of 233 set by Kelsee Grovey (2012-16).
Crawford stands at No. 6 in the all-time field-goals-made career chart for TU with 521 after recording three on Wednesday. She needs 49 more to pass Temira Poindexter's (2021-24) 569 FG for fifth.
Crawford has 280 career assists after recording six against Temple. She needs five more to pass Kelsee Grovey for ninth.
Lastly, Crawford is at an .816 free throw percentage, the 10th-best in Tulsa history. She also has the 10^th-most free throws under her belt with 240, just two shy of Tandem Mays (2003-07), who had 242.

The Hurricane will enjoy a bye this Saturday and look for revenge against first-place UTSA (15-2, 6-0 AAC) next time out on Wednesday, Jan. 22, at 6:30 p.m. Central in San Antonio.