Tulsa Women Welcome First-Place UTSA on Saturday

GAME 15:
Tulsa (7-7, 1-1 AAC) vs. UTSA (11-2, 2-0 AAC)
2:00 p.m. CT - Wednesday, January 4, 2025
Donald W. Reynolds Center (8,355) • Tulsa, Okla.

RADIO: 1300 AM/93.5 FM The Patriot
LIVE STATS: Tulsa StatBroadcast
TV: ESPN+
GAME NOTES: Tulsa
GAME NOTES: UTSA
AAC Release: Click Here

THE COACHES:
Tulsa: Angie Nelp (Colorado State '02), 4^th year
Career Record: 66-41
School Record: Same

UTSA: Karen Aston (Little Rock '87), 4th year
Career Record: 334-205
School Record: 49-59

Tulsa's Probable Starters
5          G         Delanie Crawford, 5-11, Sr-3L, Piedmont, Okla., 19.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg
7          G         Paige Bradley, 5-10, RJr-TR, Dallas, Texas, 7.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.7 apg
21        G/F      Hadley Periman, 6-2, Jr-2L, Tuttle, Okla., 7.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 2.1 apg
22        G         Mady Cartwright, 5-10, So-1L, Greenwood, Ark., 9.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg
24        G         Elise Hill, 5-7, So-1L, Tulsa, Okla., 10.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.1 apg

UTSA's Probable Starters
8          G         Nina De Leon Negron, 5-6, Gr, San Juan, PR, 9.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 5.6 apg
11        G         Sidney Love, 5-8, Jr, Cibolo, Texas, 11.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 4.1 apg
20        F          Maya Linton, 5-11, Jr, Duncanville, Texas, 4.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg
25        F          Idara Udo, 6-1, So, Plano, Texas, 7.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg
32        F          Jordyn Jenkins, 6-0, RSr, Renton, Wash., 18.7 ppg, 6.9 rpg

Heroes' Day in the Reynolds Center

Saturday's game between Tulsa and UTSA is Heroes' Day.
In appreciation for all who have or are currently serving in our military, fans can receive up to four free tickets to the game with proof of military ID.

The Series with UTSA

Saturday marks the 12th meeting between Tulsa and UTSA ... TU leads the series 7-4 and is 3-1 when hosting the Roadrunners.
The Hurricane won last year's matchup 74-70 in Tulsa. Before that, the two squad had not faced each other for 10 years.
The past five matchups with UTSA:

            02/14/2024.....Tulsa, Okla..................W, 74-70
            03/11/2014.....El Paso, Texas.............L, 89-90*
            01/08/2014.....San Antonio, Texas......W, 73-62
            11/26/2011.....San Antonio, Texas.......L, 67-87
            01/05/2009.....San Antonio, Texas.......L, 54-63

* C-USA Tournament First Round

Taking on the First-Place Roadrunners

After a close loss last time out to The American's second-place team in North Texas (10-4, 2-0 AAC), the Tulsa women will play host to the league's top squad in UTSA, who is 11-2 overall and 2-0 in conference play.
UTSA is 6-2 when playing away from San Antonio. They went 9-2 in nonconference action, with their best win coming over New Mexico State (NET 127). Five of their wins have come against programs with a NET of 200 or worse and 10 wins were against sub-150 teams in the NET. Their losses to Texas A&M and (RV) Stanford came on the road.
The Roadrunners grabbed a wire-to-wire win at Charlotte and beat UAB on New Year's Day at home, tying their best start to a season through 13 games since the 1985-86 season.
They were voted to finish fifth in the AAC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
Two-time American Player of the Week Jordyn Jenkins leads UTSA in scoring (18.7 ppg), rebounding (6.9 rpg) and blocks (1.3) per game.
It will be a battle of the top-two scorers in the league as Jenkins (243) ranks only behind TU's Delanie Crawford, who has 266 points at 19.0 per contest.
As a team, UTSA is atop the conference for free throw percentage (.707), rebound margin (+11.3), scoring defense (54.8), scoring margin (+13.3) and winning percentage (.846).

Home Court Advantage

The Hurricane has been deadly in the Donald W. Reynolds Center under fourth-year head coach Angie Nelp.
TU is 20-4 at home since the start of last season, 31-8 since 2022-23 and 39-13 since Nelp joined the program.
2024-25: TU is 5-2 at home so far this season.
2023-24: The Hurricane enjoyed their winningest home record in program history, going 15-2 under the lights of the Reynolds Center, including 2-1 in postseason play in the WBIT.
2022-23: Tulsa went 11-4 and started the home slate 9-0.
2021-22: The Hurricane enjoyed its first winning home record in three years at 8-5 under Nelp in her first season.

Dynamic Crawford is the Class of the Conference

It should come to no surprise that All-American senior guard Delanie Crawford currently leads the AAC in scoring to start the new year with 266 total points for a 19.0 average per game.
The multi-level scorer has earned double-digit points in all but one game, peaking with 36 against East Carolina (12/29).
She enjoyed her 21st career 20+ scoring game with 22 points at North Texas on New Year's Day.
This season, Crawford is averaging 6.9 FG, 2.6 3PT and 2.6 FT per game.
She's shooting .416 from the field (96-231), .311 in threes (37-119) and .902 at the charity stripe (37-41).
Crawford also leads the AAC for field goals (96), field goal attempts (231), free throw percentage (.902) and 3-point attempts (119), is second for 3-pointers made (37), third for threes per game (2.64) and ninth for 3-point average (.311)
She has also been one of Tulsa's most prominent rebounders and assisters. Crawford is second on Tulsa with 80 total rebounds, ranking only behind teammate Hadley Periman (7.7 rpg) with a 5.7 average per game.
Crawford also has the second-most assists on the team with 30 (2.1 apg), tying Elise Hill and standing behind Kristol Ayson (34, 2.4 apg).
She earned her first AAC Weekly Honorable Mention nod after earning a double-double with 25 points and 13 rebounds vs Chicago State. She picked up her second one after averaging 21.5 points across the two West Palm Beach Classic games (Montana and Tennessee), including tying her season-high of 26 points in the win over Montana (12/20).
Last time out, Crawford dropped 36 points on East Carolina (12/29) on a 14-20 clip from the field, 3-7 from three and 5-5 at the line, earning her second career AAC Player of the Week award and first of the season.
Crawford's led Tulsa in scoring 10 times this season and paced the Hurricane in rebounds four times and assists and steals three times.

Hill Sees All-Around Success

Sophomore guard Elise Hill has scored in double-figures in eight of 14 games this season and in 10 of her last 17 games for the Hurricane dating back to the end of her freshman season last year.
She has scored exactly 12 points four times this year, 13 points against Marshall (11/23), 18 points against Grambling (12/5) and a career-best 22 points at North Texas (1/1).
Hill called her own number in the waning seconds of the season-opener against UAPB, sinking the game-winning three-pointer with less than a second to go to seal the 63-60 win.
She went 8-14 with six treys for 22 points vs. UNT. It was the seventh-most threes in a game by a TU player and the fifth-most against a conference foe.
After her performance in Denton, Hill is now 12th in the league for threes per game at 1.79.
She has also recorded 5+ assists three times this season and has 30 assists so far, ranking only behind Kristol Ayson (34, 2.4 apg).
Hill also thrives on defense, using her quickness and speed to steal the ball 24 times this season for the league's seventh-best average of 1.71 per game.
She stole the ball from ECU (12/29) eight times for Tulsa's second-highest effort in history, spanning both nonconference and conference play.
Hill grabbed her first career AAC Weekly Honorable Mention award after she scored a team-leading 18 points, while adding five assists and six rebounds in the win over Grambling (12/5).
Hill has led Tulsa in assists four times and scoring three times.

Tidbits on the TCU Transfer Paige Bradley

Redshirt junior Paige Bradley, an offseason transfer from TCU, has made an immediate impact for the Hurricane with 13 starts in 14 games played.
She came to Tulsa with only three double-digit scoring games in her career. She already has four this season.
Bradley is fourth on TU for rebounds (65) and boards per contest (4.6).
She averages 7.6 points, the Hurricane's fourth-best mark.
Bradley had her first double-figure scoring game for Tulsa against Marshall (11/23) in the WBCA Showcase.
She also brought down a career-high 10 rebounds against Marshall (11/23), helping her achieve her first double-double.
The Hurricane is 6-2 when Bradley records three or more field goals.
Bradley took home her first career AAC Weekly Honorable Mention after averaging 16.0 points and 8.0 boards in wins over San Jose State (12/10) and Kansas City (12/15).

Cartwright the Swiss Army Knife

Mady Cartwright, a sophomore guard, shines on both offense and defense for the Hurricane.
She is one of three players to start every game this season, along with Delanie Crawford and Elise Hill.
Cartwright is 10th in the American Athletic Conference with a .679 free throw percentage (38-56).
Cartwright shot a perfect 8-8 game at the line against Marshall (11/23) for TU's 14th all-time perfect free throw game of over eight attempts.
She has reached double-digit scoring in six of the last 10 games.
On offense, Cartwright leads the team for free throws (38) and free throw attempts (56) and ranks third for points (129) and scoring average (9.2).
On the defensive end, Cartwright is third on the team for total boards (66) and rebounds per game (4.7) and fourth for steals (1.2 for 17 steals).
Cartwright had her first career double-double against San Jose State (12/10) with 12 points and 10 rebounds against the Spartans.
Tulsa is 4-1 this season when Cartwright steals the ball two or more times in a game and 3-1 when assisting on three or more field goals.

Nelp Over Halfway to Century Mark in Wins.

Tulsa's Angie Nelp won her 60th career game in her four seasons with a 63-60 win against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the 2024-25 season opener on Nov. 6, 2024.
She is currently 66-41 14 games into her fourth season.
No previous Tulsa coach had reached 50 wins in their first three seasons … only three other Tulsa head coaches won more than 60 games in their careers.

Home, Road, Neutral

Tulsa has played 14 games with 7 at home, 3 on the road and 4 neutral site games … here's a look at the comparative stats:

Site                  FG                    3Pts                 FT                    REB                  Pts
Home (7)         .416 (187-450) .294 (50-170) .754 (89-118) 40.1 (281)       73.3 (513)
Road (3)          .420 (81-193) .341 (28-82)    .500 (26-52)    40.7 (122)       72.0 (216)
Neutral (4)      .360 (87-242) .243 (27-111) .703 (52-74)    34.5 (138)       63.3 (253)
Totals (14)       .401                 .289                 .684                 38.6                 70.1
Opp. Totals     .400                 .351                 .636                 40.4                 68.4

Periman on the Blocks and Boards

After missing the first two games of the season and the Chicago State game (11/27) with injury, junior guard/forward Hadley Periman is still the Hurricane's top rebounder with 84 boards at a 7.6 rate per game.
She has 471 career rebounds with a career rate of 6.2 per game, marking the 9th-best average among all active players in the AAC.
Only two players in the league - ECU's Amiya Joyner (733) and South Florida's Carla Brito (510) have more career boards than Periman.
Periman also blocks the ball well with 20 blocks this year at a league-high 1.82 average. She's had three blocks against four teams so far.
She ranks seventh in program history with 101 career rejections.
Periman has led TU in rebounding five times, all in the last seven games.
She had a 20-point, 11-board game against Kansas City (12/15) for her first career double-double.

Ayson Adds Veteran Experience to Tulsa

Kristol Ayson, a senior transfer from Jacksonville State and Arizona Western, has seen action in all 14 games for the Hurricane, averaging 22.1 minutes per game off the bench.
She's second on TU with 23 steals at 1.6 per contest.
She also leads the Hurricane in assists with 34 total for 2.4 per game.
Ayson has hit three or more assists in eight games, with a season-best five assists against San Jose State (12/10).
Tulsa is 5-3 when she records three or more assists in a game.
She had a 13-point game against Oral Roberts for her first double-figure scoring game with the Hurricane.
Ayson has led TU in steals five times and assists three times this year.
She came to Tulsa after leading Jax State with 8.1 points, 1.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game while securing 3.7 rebounds in 26.1 minutes per contest.
At Arizona Western, a junior college, Ayson recorded three double-doubles and 34 double-digits scoring games across two seasons. She was an NJCAA All-American Honorable Mention as a sophomore after averaging 14.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game.

Deadly Free Throw Shooters

Tulsa has been effective at the line, thanks in part to two of the AAC's top free throw shooters in Delanie Crawford and Mady Cartwright.
Crawford leads the league at .902 after shooting 37-41 with Cartwright at 10th at a 38-56 clip for a .679 mark. Cartwright has made her way to the line the most out of all TU players as she has gotten stronger at drawing fouls.
Cartwright has had four perfect games from the stripe, including a 4-4 mark in the season-opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (11/6), a 2-2 clip vs. Oral Roberts (11/17), an impressive 8-8 tally against Marshall (11/23) for Tulsa's 14th-ever perfect free throw game when making over eight free throws and a 4-4 contest against Chicago State (11/27).
She had a 6-10 contest against #18/16 Tennessee (12/21).
Crawford had an 8-9 game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (11/6) and 5-5 contests against Georgia (11/21) and East Carolina (12/29).
Crawford is the only player in the league shooting over 90% in free throws after averaging 2.6 free throws made per game.
Paige Bradley is 17-22 (.773) in free throws at 1.2 per contest ... she is outside the threshold of 2.5 FT per game required to be ranked in the league.
Tulsa ranks fifth in the conference with a team free throw mark of .684.
TU shot its 19th perfect free throw game in program history against Chicago State (11/27), going 10-10 from the line … it's TU's third time ever having a perfect free throw game with over 10 attempts (10-10 vs. Hawaii (2-27-03); 12-12 vs. Nevada (3-8-03).
The Hurricane went 10-14 in free throws in the fourth quarter to outscore Arkansas-Pine Bluff (11/6) 15-5 in the final period to complete a 17-point comeback victory, the largest in school history.

Crawford and Periman Climbing the Career Charts

Delanie Crawford through 106 career games in four seasons with the Hurricane stars in multiple top 10 career charts in program history.
She ranks third in three-pointers made with 221 ... she has a chance to set the team record this season as she is just one trey behind Kara Pongonis-Paslay's (2002-06) 222 and 12 behind Kelsee Grovey's (2012-16) 233.
Crawford is sixth for career points (1,461) and field goals made (502).
Crawford is also 10th for free throws (234) and free throw percentage (.814).
Junior Hadley Periman has played 76 games for Tulsa. She ranks seventh in TU history with 101 blocks, needing 20 more to pass Megan Moody's (2002-06) 120 rejections for sixth.

Fun Facts About Player Names

Tulsa is one of two teams in the country (Sacramento State) to have four players with a last name that starts with the letter "A": Tobi Ademuwagon, Brooklyn Alexander, Kennedi Alexander and Kristol Ayson.
TU is also the only team in the country with over half the roster having last names starting in the A-C letter range. This list includes Tobi Ademuwagon, Brooklyn Alexander, Kennedi Alexander, Kristol Ayson, Paige Bradley, Mady Cartwright, Jade Clack and Delanie Crawford.

Going for 20

Tulsa players have combined for seven 20+ point scoring efforts this year.
Delanie Crawford currently has five under her belt with Elise Hill and Hadley Periman each having one.
Tulsa is 4-2 when a player scores over 20 points.
There's been one game where two players scored over 20 in the same game: North Texas (1/1) with Delanie Crawford and Elise Hill each scoring 22.
Crawford has recorded 21 20+ scoring games while Hill and Periman have one so far in their careers.

Going for 30

Tulsa has had a 30+ scorer once this year.
Delanie Crawford collected a career-high 36 points against ECU (12/29) off 14-20 FG, 3-7 3PT and 5-5 FT. It was her fourth career 30+ scoring game and first of this season.
36 points was the third-most scored in a game by a TU player and second all-time in conference games.

Tulsa Women Welcome First-Place UTSA on Saturday

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Brooklyn Alexander

Kennedi Alexander

Kristol Ayson

Paige Bradley

Mady Cartwright

Jade Clack

Delanie Crawford

Elise Hill

Hadley Periman

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