Tulsa on the Road to Face UAB

GAME 27:
Tulsa (13-13, 7-7 AAC) vs. UAB (15-11, 6-8 AAC)
2:00 p.m. CT - Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025
Bartow Arena (8,508) • Birmingham, Ala.

RADIO: 1300 AM/93.5 FM The Patriot
LIVE STATS: UAB StatBroadcast
TV: ESPN+
GAME NOTES: Tulsa
GAME NOTES: UAB

THE COACHES:
Tulsa: Angie Nelp (Colorado State '02), 4^th year
Career Record: 72-47
School Record: Same

UAB: Randy Norton (Iowa '86), 12^th year
Career Record: 210-154
School Record: Same

Tulsa's Probable Starters
2          G         Kristol Ayson, 5-8, Sr-TR, Tacoma, Wash., 6.4 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 2.4 apg
5          G         Delanie Crawford, 5-11, Sr-3L, Piedmont, Okla., 17.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg
7          G         Paige Bradley, 5-10, RJr-TR, Dallas, Texas, 8.5 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.9 apg
21        G/F      Hadley Periman, 6-2, Jr-2L, Tuttle, Okla., 8.1 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 2.1 apg
22        G         Mady Cartwright, 5-10, So-1L, Greenwood, Ark., 9.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg

UAB's Probable Starters
1          G         Eleecia Carter, 5-7, RFr, Winter Garden, Fla., 4.9 ppg, 1.5 rpg
12        F          Molly Moffitt, 6-1, Jr, Seattle, Wash., 5.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg
21        G         Maddie Walsh, 6-2, Gr, Hartland, Wisc., 12.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.7 apg
23        F          Jade Weathersby, 6-2, So, Aurora, Colo., 11.0 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 1.7 apg
33        F          Sara Bershers, 6-0, Gr, Fort Smith, Ark., 9.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg

The Series with UAB

Saturday's matchup in Birmingham will be the only regular season meeting between TU and UAB this season.
It'll be the 14th all-time meeting between the two programs. UAB leads 11-2.
The Hurricane won last year's meeting in Tulsa, 84-72. The previous 11 games were won by the Blazers.
Tulsa's only other win against UAB came in the first meeting during a nonconference tournament at the University of Missouri.
Tulsa will be seeking its first road win in Birmingham as the Hurricane is currently 0-5 when facing the Blazers on their home court
A win on Saturday would mark Tulsa's first-ever win in the state of Alabama.
The past five matchups with UAB:

            02/21/2024.....Tulsa, Okla.............W, 84-72
            01/15/2014.....Tulsa, Okla.............L, 65-76
            03/03/2013.....Birmingham, Ala.....L, 45-59
            01/26/2012.....Tulsa, Okla.............L, 40-47
            02/10/2011.....Birmingham, Ala.....L, 36-59

How Fired up are the Blazers?

UAB is one spot behind Tulsa in American Athletic Conference standings at 6-8 for seventh.
The 15-11 Blazers have lost four of their last five games, three of which were on the road.
Last time out, UAB fell 80-71 at 10th-place Memphis after enjoying a bye.
UAB was picked to finish ninth in the AAC Coaches' Preseason poll.
Entering Saturday's contest, UAB leads the AAC in blocks per game (4.5), field goal percentage (.426) and 3-pointers per game (8.73).
It'll be a battle of the league's top 3-point squads as Tulsa ranks just being UAB for second with 8.23 treys per contest.
Tulsa will see a lot of Maddie Walsh, who leads the league in minutes with 36.07 per game. Her teammate Jade Weathersby averages a conference-high 7.1 defensive rebounds per contest.

Dynamic Crawford Can Do It All

All-American senior guard Delanie Crawford continues to be a scoring leader in the AAC with her 17.12 points-per-game mark, the second-best effort in the league.
The multi-level scorer has earned double-digit points in all but three games, peaking with 36 against East Carolina (12/29) in the conference opener, the most scored by an AAC player in a game this year.
She enjoyed her 24th career 20+ scoring game with 24 points at ECU (2/8).
This season, Crawford is averaging 6.1 FG, 2.7 3PT and 2.3 FT per game.
She's shooting .394 from the field (158-403), .338 in threes (69-204) and .882 at the charity stripe (60-68) - currently the 9th-best single-season average in team history.
Crawford is also first in the AAC for field goal attempts (403) and 3-point attempts (2-4) and total points (445), second for points per game (17.12), total treys (69) and field goals (158) and third for threes per game (2.65).
Her 204 total 3-point attempts are the sixth-most in Division I.
She has also been one of Tulsa's most prominent rebounders and assisters. Crawford is second on the team with 139 total rebounds, ranking only behind teammate Hadley Periman (8.4 rpg) with a 5.3 average per game.
Crawford also has the second-most assists on the team with 60 (2.3 apg).
She earned her first AAC Weekly Honorable Mention nod this season 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 then-season-high of 26 points in the win over Montana (12/20).
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 16 times this season and paced the Hurricane in assists eight times, steals seven times and rebounds six times.

Periman Scores, Boards and Blocks

Junior guard/forward Hadley Periman's game has grown tremendously, averaging 3.0 ppg/7.2 rpg/1.6 apg a year ago to 8.1 ppg/8.4 rpg/2.1 apg today.
Despite missing three nonconference games with injury, Periman is still the Hurricane's top rebounder with 194 boards, the league's seventh-highest total to go with the fifth-best average (8.4) this season.
She has 581 career rebounds with a career rate of 6.60 per game, marking the eighth-best average among all active players in the AAC.
Only two players in the league - ECU's Amiya Joyner (834) and South Florida's Carla Brito (618) have more career boards than Periman.
Periman also blocks the ball better than everyone in the conference this season with a league-highs of 42 rejections at 1.83 per contest.
She ranks sixth in TU history with 123 career rejections.
Her 17 rebounds against FAU (1/15) is tied for the third-most in a game by an AAC player so far this season.
Periman has led TU in rebounding 16 times, all in the last 19 games. She's also led the Hurricane in blocking for 19 games this season.
She has six double-doubles this season, including a 20-point, 11 board game against Kansas City (12/15) - her first and only career 20+ point game.
Tulsa is 5-1 when Periman records a double-double.
Six double-doubles ties for the fifth-most among all AAC players this season.
Periman came within two assists shy of a triple-double against Charlotte (1/8), finishing with 16 points, 15 boards, eight assists, three assists and two blocks, leading TU in the latter four categories.
She needs one more double-double to enter the Hurricane's top-10 single season double-double chart.

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 21 starts in 22 games played.
She came to Tulsa with only three double-digit scoring games in her career. She has eight this season.
Bradley is fourth on TU for rebounds (97) and third for boards per contest (4.4).
Bradley averages 8.5 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, helping her achieve her first career double-double.
The Hurricane is 5-2 when Bradley records five 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).
She missed four conference games for TU for a medical decision and returned to action against Charlotte (2/5).
Bradley hit a perfect 4-for-4 clip from 3-point range against ECU (2/8) for Tulsa's fourth-ever perfect 3-point shooting game with a minimum of four attempts.

Rolling Hill Continues to Succeed on the Floor

Sophomore guard Elise Hill has scored in double-figures in 13 of 22 games played this season and in 15 of her last 25 games for the Hurricane dating back to the end of her freshman season last year.
She has scored 10 points once this year, 12 points on four occasions, 13 points against Marshall (11/23), 14 against Memphis (1/25), 15 against the league's toughest defense in UTSA (1/4), 16 against FAU (1/15), 18 against Grambling (12/5), 20 at home against Wichita State (2/1) and a career-best 22 at North Texas (1/1).
Hill called her own number in the waning seconds of the season-opener against UAPB, sinking the game-winning 3-pointer with less than a second to go to seal the 63-60 win.
She went 8-of-14 with six treys for 22 points vs. UNT. It was the seventh-most threes in a game by a TU player.
Hill had another strong 3-point game against Wichita State (2/1), going 5-13 from deep.
She has also recorded 5+ assists four times this year.
Hill also thrives on defense, using her quickness and speed to steal the ball 31 times this season.
Hill stole the ball from ECU (12/29) eight times for Tulsa's second-highest effort in team history, spanning both nonconference and conference play.
She grabbed her first career AAC Weekly Honorable Mention award after she scored a team-leading 18 points with five assists and six rebounds in the win over Grambling (12/5).
Hill has led Tulsa in steals seven times and points and assists six times.
She's missed the last four games for a medical decision.

Nelp Surpasses 70 Career Wins

Head Coach Angie Nelp won her 70th contest with the Hurricane in a 56-42 home win over Wichita State (2/1).
She is currently 72-47 after 26 games in her fourth season.
No previous Tulsa coach had reached 70 wins in just their fourth season.
Only three other TU head coaches won more than 70 games in their careers.
Nelp needs one win to pass Charlene Thomas-Swinson's (2005-11) 72 wins for third on the all-time TU coach wins list.
She's the only coach in program history to earn 10+ home wins in three straight seasons.

Cartwright the Swiss Army Knife

Mady Cartwright, a sophomore guard, shines on both offense and defense for the Hurricane.
She is one of two players to start every game this season for TU (Crawford).
Cartwright is fifth in the American Athletic Conference with a .735 free throw percentage (75-102).
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 11 games this season.
On offense, Cartwright leads the team for free throws (75) and free throw attempts (102), ranks second for points (249) and third for scoring average (9.6).
On the defensive end, Cartwright is third on the team for steals (37) and total boards (102) and fourth for rebounds per game (3.9).
Cartwright had her first career double-double against San Jose State (12/10) with 12 points and 10 rebounds against the Spartans.
She had her first 20+ point game against Charlotte (1/8) with 21 points.
She enjoyed her second 20+ point game in a home win over Tulane (2/19) with 23 points, a new career-high.
Tulsa is 7-4 this season when Cartwright steals the ball two or more times in a game and 7-3 when assisting on three or more field goals.

Ayson Adds Speed and Versatility

Kristol Ayson, a senior transfer from Jacksonville State and Arizona Western, has played in all 26 games with three starts in three of the last four games.
She leads the Hurricane in assists with 62 (2.4 apg).
Ayson has hit three or more assists in 14 games, with a season-best of five assists against San Jose State (12/10).
Tulsa is 9-5 when she records three or more assists in a game.
She had a 13-point game against Oral Roberts, 14 points against Rice (1/25) and a season-high 15 points in her first start for the Hurricane against Charlotte (2/5).
Ayson's scored in double-figures in three of the last six games.
She's first on TU with 39 steals at 1.5 per contest.
Ayson has led TU in steals eight times, assists five times and points twice.
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.

We Share Because We Care

Tulsa has been a top three assisting team in the AAC since the Temple game.
Currently, the Hurricane is third in the league for assists per game at 14.62 with no single player averaging more than 2.4 per contest.
TU has assisted 380 of 630 field goals this season at a rate of 60%.
Tulsa has five games with 20+ assists and nine games with 18+ assists.
The Hurricane's 25 assists against Kansas City (12/15) is the most by an AAC team in a single game.
Tulsa is 4-1 when recording 20 or more assists.

Hurricane Defense is Surging

Over the past five games (since Feb. 1), the Tulsa defense has stood as The American's second-highest scoring defense.
TU has held opponents to a 56.60 scoring average over that span, including holding the then-top scoring offense in North Texas (69.9 ppg) to 61 points.
Tulsa held Tulane (2/19) to 54 points last time out and Charlotte (2/5) to just 53 points. Before that, the Hurricane held Wichita State to 42 points, a season-low by a TU opponent.
Strong defense has led to a +9.8 scoring margin, the league's second-best mark in the last five games.
The only team to score 65+ points against Tulsa in the last nine games was East Carolina (2/8).

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 letter A-C range. This list includes Tobi Ademuwagon, Brooklyn Alexander, Kennedi Alexander, Kristol Ayson, Paige Bradley, Mady Cartwright, Jade Clack and Delanie Crawford.

Players Moving up TU Single Season Charts

Senior Delanie Crawford's 17.1 points per game is currently 10th on Tulsa's single season points-per-game list.
Crawford's 69 3-pointers are currently tied for fifth. She holds the current record at 99, which she set last season.
Crawford's .882 season free throw percentage currently rests at No. 9.
Junior Hadley Periman has six double-doubles this season and needs one more to tie Ashley Clark (2012-16) for the 10th-most double-doubles in a season. Clark had seven in 2014-15.

Crawford and Periman Climbing the Career Charts

Delanie Crawford through 118 career games in four seasons with the Hurricane stars in multiple top 10 career charts in program history.
She ranks first in three-pointers made with 253, passing Kelsee Grovey's (2012-16) record 233 made threes against UTSA (1/22)
Crawford ranks third in career points (1,640), needing 103 to pass Taleya Mayberry's (2009-13) 1,742 points for second on the all-time TU points chart.
Crawford is also sixth in field goals made with 564, just five shy of Temira Poindexter's (2021-24) 569 made baskets.
Crawford's also ninth in free throw percentage (.817) and free throws (259).
Finally, Crawford is ninth all-time in assists with 300. She needs 22 more to pass Alexis Gaulden's (2016-20) 321 assists for eighth.
Junior Hadley Periman has played 88 games for Tulsa. She ranks sixth in TU history with 123 blocks and needs five more to pass Chanel Johnson's (2007-09) 127 stuffs for fifth.

Tulsa on the Road to Face UAB

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Brooklyn Alexander

Kennedi Alexander

Kristol Ayson

Paige Bradley

Mady Cartwright

Jade Clack

Delanie Crawford

Elise Hill

Hadley Periman

Temira Poindexter

Tulsa on the Road to Face UAB

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Next Event

Players Mentioned

Brooklyn Alexander

Kennedi Alexander

Kristol Ayson

Paige Bradley

Mady Cartwright

Jade Clack

Delanie Crawford

Elise Hill

Hadley Periman

Temira Poindexter

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