Cartwright’s Career Night Pushes Tulsa to 19-Point Win Over Tulane

Wednesday, February 19

Tulsa, Okla.

6:30 p.m.

Tulsa

Tulane

Photo by: Alina Lebedeva

Cartwright’s Career Night Pushes Tulsa to 19-Point Win Over Tulane

2/19/2025 10:28:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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TULSA, Okla. — A fast start and a balanced offensive attack led by sophomore Mady Cartwright's career-high 23 points propelled Tulsa to a dominant 73-54 victory over Tulane Monday night in the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

The Golden Hurricane improved to 13-13 overall and 7-7 in the American Athletic Conference for sixth place, just one game behind Tulane who is now 8-6 in league play. Tulsa holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Green Wave with just four regular season games left.

Cartwright's 23 points resulted from hitting career-bests of eight field goals and five three-pointers and to go with a perfect 2-for-2 clip from the free throw line. Redshirt junior Paige Bradley added 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while Delanie Crawford chipped in 12 points and a team-high four assists.

Tulsa's defense made a huge impact, forcing 29 Tulane turnovers and converting them into 33 points. The American's top blocker Hadley Periman concluded the evening with three blocks for the sixth time this season. She also added nine boards while senior Kristol Ayson led with three steals.

Tulsa set the tone early, jumping out to a 23-12 lead after the first quarter thanks to sharp perimeter shooting. The Golden Hurricane extended their advantage to 41-23 by halftime, limiting Tulane to just 36.0% shooting in the opening half.

The Green Wave struggled to find offensive rhythm, with Sherese Pittman providing the lone bright spot with a team-high 21 points and four three-pointers. Tulane made a late push in the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to 12, but Tulsa responded with key defensive stops and a 6-0 run to seal the win.

"Yeah, really proud of our team, really proud of our teamwork, really proud of our toughness," said Head Coach Angie Nelp. "I felt like our team tonight just had it going on both ends of the floor. I felt like our defense was more in sync than it has ever been. I felt like they were really well-connected. We had great coverage on that end of the floor. And then I felt like we came up with some critical rebounds down the stretch. One of the things that I really liked about our defense was the aggressiveness that we had. We were able to create turnovers, and then we were able to capitalize on those turnovers coming back on the offensive side of the ball. I love the teamwork that we have. I mean every time you look out there, you've got players making extra passes. You've got people passing up good shots for great shots. We had really great balance tonight.

"Obviously, Mady Cartwright did a great job for us. Paige Bradley did a great job. Delanie Crawford too, but I felt like we really got a lot of balance in our scoring, and that was key. You saw a team that was really in sync and had great rhythm on both ends of the floor. And I love the growth that we're having this season, and we've still got more growth to do."

HOW IT HAPPENED
IN THE FIRST QUARTER . . .
Tulsa wasted no time setting the tone, jumping out to an early lead behind sharp three-point shooting. Mady Cartwright had 13 points and knocked down a trio of 3-pointers, while Delanie Crawford added five quick points to give the Hurricane a 23-12 advantage by the end of the quarter. Tulsa's defense also played a key role, forcing 13 Tulane turnovers and turning them into transition points. The Green Wave struggled to establish an offensive rhythm, shooting just 28.6% from the field in the opening frame. Despite some early foul trouble, Tulsa controlled the pace and built momentum heading into the second quarter.

IN THE SECOND QUARTER . . .
The Hurricane continued to dominate on both ends of the floor, stretching their lead to 41-23 by halftime. Cartwright remained a consistent scoring threat, while Kristol Ayson and Delanie Crawford contributed key baskets to keep the offense flowing. Defensively, Tulsa ramped up its pressure, forcing Tulane into hurried shots and unforced turnovers. The Green Wave managed just 11 points in the quarter, struggling against Tulsa's aggressive on-ball defense. By halftime, the Hurricane had complete control, holding a comfortable 18-point advantage.

At the half, Tulsa was shooting 51.6% from the field (16-31), 43.8% for 3-pointers (7-16) and 100% from the line (2-2), while Tulane was 36% in field goal shooting (9-25), including 27.3% in threes (3-11), and 66.7% at the charity stripe (2-3).

IN THE THIRD QUARTER . . .
Coming out of the break, Tulsa faced a brief scoring drought, hitting just 4-of-16 shots in the third quarter. However, the defense remained stout, holding Tulane to just 38.5% shooting for 11 points and forcing key stops to prevent any significant momentum shift. Mady Cartwright and Hadley Periman led the offense, combining for three 3-pointers in the period to keep the Green Wave at bay. Tulane's Amira Mabry provided a small spark for the visitors with five points and three boards, but the Hurricane countered with strong rebounding and transition play. By the end of the quarter, Tulsa maintained a 54-34 lead, keeping its opponent at a comfortable 20-point distance.

IN THE FOURTH QUARTER . . .
Tulane showed signs of life in the final quarter, cutting the deficit to 12 points at 62-50 after an 11-0 scoring run led by Sherese Pittman. However, Tulsa quickly responded with a 6-0 burst of its own, highlighted by clutch shots from Delanie Crawford and Mady Cartwright to put the game out of reach. The Hurricane maintained their defensive intensity, forcing Tulane into late turnovers and limiting their second-chance opportunities. Late free throws by Kristol Ayson and Hadley Periman helped seal the 73-54 victory for Tulsa.

GAME NOTES

Tulsa has now won three straight over Tulane, improving the overall series to 28-12 Green Wave.
The victory marks the third consecutive season Tulsa has reached 10 home wins in a season. TU is currently 10-4 in the Donald W. Reynolds Center.
It's the first time since 2003-06 that TU has surpassed 10+ home wins in three consecutive seasons. Fourth-year Head Coach Angie Nelp is the only coach in program history to accomplish the feat.
TU is 25-6 at home since the start of last season, 36-10 since 2022-23 and 44-15 since Nelp joined the program before the 2021-22 season.
Tulsa forced 29 turnovers, leading to 14 fast break points.
29 turnovers are a season-high for the Green Wave. It's the second-most forced turnovers in a game this season by Tulsa.
The Hurricane had 14 steals, tied with four other games for the second-most in a game this season.
Sophomore Mady Cartwright led TU with 23 points for her second 20+ scoring game this season and her career.
It's Cartwright's 11th double-figure scoring game this year and 21st of her career.
Redshirt junior Paige Bradley produced 16 points for her eighth double-digit scoring contest this season and the 11th of her career.
Senior Delanie Crawford came away with 12 points. It's her 23rd double-figure scoring game this season and 82nd of her career.
Junior Hadley Periman had three blocks. It's her seventh game this season having three or more in a single game.
Periman moves to 123 blocks in her career, passing Megan Moody's (2002-06) 120 rejections for sixth on the all-time TU blocks chart.
Crawford now has 69 3-pointers this season. It's the fifth-most in a single season by a TU player and just 30 off the record of 99 she set last year.
Crawford's 12 points moved her to 1,640 career points. She needs 103 more to pass Taleya Mayberry's (2009-13) 1,742 points for second in Tulsa history.
Crawford stands at No. 6 in the all-time field-goals-made career chart for TU with 564 after recording four on Wednesday. She needs six more to pass Temira Poindexter's (2021-24) 569 baskets for fifth.
Crawford has 300 career assists for ninth all-time. 22 more will help her pass Alexis Gaulden's (2016-20) 321 assists for eighth.
Lastly, Crawford maintains an .817 career free throw percentage, the ninth-best in Tulsa history. She also has the ninth-most free throws under her belt with 259.