Tulsa Set for Showdown at Lindenwood in WNIT Opener

Thursday, March 20

St. Charles, Mo.

7:00 p.m.

Tulsa

Lindenwood

Photo by: Joshua Rogers

Tulsa Set for Showdown at Lindenwood in WNIT Opener

3/19/2025 3:49:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Bracket (PDF)

GAME 32:
Tulsa (17-14, 11-7 AAC) at Lindenwood (21-10, 16-4 OVC)
Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) 1st Round
7:00 p.m. CT - Thursday, March 20, 2025
Robert F. Hyland Arena (3,270) • St. Charles, Mo.

RADIO: 1300 AM/93.5 FM The Patriot
LIVE STATS: Lindenwood SideArm Stats
TV: ESPN+
GAME NOTES: Tulsa
GAME NOTES: Lindenwood
AAC RELEASE: Click Here

THE COACHES:
Tulsa: Angie Nelp (Colorado State '02), 4^th year
Career Record: 76-48
School Record: Same

Lindenwood: Amy Eagan (Truman State '99), 2nd year
Career Record: 301-183
School Record: 28-31

Tulsa's Probable Starters
2          G         Kristol Ayson, 5-8, Sr-TR, Tacoma, Wash., 7.2 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.3 apg
5          G         Delanie Crawford, 5-11, Sr-3L, Piedmont, Okla., 16.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.5 apg
7          G         Paige Bradley, 5-10, RJr-TR, Dallas, Texas, 7.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.7 apg
21        G/F      Hadley Periman, 6-2, Jr-2L, Tuttle, Okla., 8.7 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 2.6 apg
22        G         Mady Cartwright, 5-10, So-1L, Greenwood, Ark.,10.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg

Lindenwood's Probable Starters
3          G         Gracy Wernli, 5-9, So, Bixby, Okla., 10.5 ppg, 2.1 rpg
4          G         Ellie Brueggemann, 5-11, So, Owasso, Okla., 11.8 ppg, 2.7 rpg
12        G         Brooke Coffey, 6-1, So, St. Charles, Mo., 10.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.5 apg
22        G         Mya Skoff, 5-10, So, Bellevue, Neb., 9.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.7 apg
35        C          Justis Odom, 6-2, Sr, Indianapolis, Ind., 8.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.7 apg

Tulsa's Postseason History

The Golden Hurricane have made their eighth postseason in school history.
TU enters the WNIT with a 5-7 combined postseason record and 2-4 WNIT mark.
In the postseason, Tulsa has played in two NCAA Tournaments (2006, 2013), four times in the WNIT (2004, 2005, 2015 and 2022) and once in the WBIT (2024).
Tulsa is 1-2 in NCAA play, 2-1 in WBIT and 2-4 in the WNIT.
In NCAA play, TU defeated 5-seed NC State 71-61 in its first-ever NCAA Tournament game, but in round two lost to host and #4-seed DePaul 71-67 in 2006.
In WNIT action, Tulsa's first postseason action was against Memphis, falling 66-64 on the road in 2004 … in remaining WNIT play, Tulsa defeated Missouri State (2015) and North Texas (2022), and fell to Texas A&M (2005), Eastern Michigan (2015) and Wyoming (2022).
This is TU's third postseason appearance under fourth-year head coach Angie Nelp, who is 3-2 in postseason play.
She led the Hurricane to the WNIT in her first season (2021-22) and claimed a first-round win over North Texas (75-62) before falling in three OTs at Wyoming (97-90).
Last season, Tulsa made a run to the WBIT Quarterfinals after taking down Arkansas (80-62) and Georgetown (73-61) before falling to eventual tournament champion Illinois (69-61). All three games were played at home.

Next in the Bracket

A win on Thursday would send Tulsa to the Second Round, where they'll hit the road for Tarleton State.
The potential matchup is set for Sunday, March 23, at 2 p.m. Central.

The Series with Lindenwood

Thursday's first-round contest will be the third all-time meeting between Tulsa and Lindenwood.
TU leads the series 2-0 after sweeping the home-and-home series in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.
The last matchup occurred in St. Charles for the 2023-24 season opener for both teams. The Hurricane prevailed 89-80, thanks in part to Delanie Crawford's 35 points and nine rebounds. She and two other starters combined for 81 of TU's 89 points.
All matchups with Lindenwood:

11/06/2023.....St. Charles, Mo........W, 89-80
12/04/2022.....Tulsa, Okla..............W, 79-46

A Look at the Lions

Lindenwood is 21-10 overall and finished as the Ohio Valley Conference tournament runner-up.
The Lions fell in overtime 82-76 to top-seeded Tennessee Tech in the OVC title game.
Lindenwood won 11 consecutive games before falling in their final two regular season contests.
Three Lions average double-digit points, including Ellie Brueggemann (11.8), Brooke Coffey (10.8) and Gracy Wernli (10.5). All three players are sophomores who started in all 31 games for the Lions.

Alexander and Crawford Earn AAC Honors

Freshman guard Kennedi Alexander and senior guard Delanie Crawford were selected to end-of-the-year American Athletic Conference awards.
Alexander was named to the All-Freshman Team, while Crawford earned unanimous First Team All-Conference honors and a share of the Ambassador Award with Rice's Malia Fisher.
In 10.6 minutes per game off the bench, Alexander averaged 3.6 points and 2.0 rebounds through 27 games played.
Crawford earned the Ambassador Award through sportsmanship, ethical behavior, fair play and integrity, and 200+ hours of community service during her time at Tulsa.
As one of three unanimous first team choices, Crawford averaged 16.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.7 steals, earning two double-doubles and scoring in double figures in 26 contests, including 10 with over 20 points and one 30+ scoring game.

Nelp is Third-Winningest Coach in Program History

Head Coach Angie Nelp earned her 73rd win for the Golden Hurricane at UAB (2/22) in a 72-68 overtime comeback thriller, surpassing Charlene Thomas-Swinson's (2005-11) 72 wins for third on the all-time TU coach wins list.
Nelp won her 70th contest with the Hurricane in a 56-42 home win over Wichita State (2/1).
She is currently 76-48 after 31 games into 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 16 more to pass Kathy McConnell-Miller's (1999-05) 91 wins for second.
Nelp is the only coach in program history to earn 10+ home wins in three straight seasons.
Nelp is also the only coach to lead Tulsa to three postseasons.

Dynamic Crawford Can Do It All

All-American senior guard Delanie Crawford has had a phenomenal scoring season, averaging 16.94 points per game (2nd in AAC).
The multi-level scorer has earned double-digit points in all but four 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 26th career 20+ point game with 22 points at Memphis (3/1).
This season, Crawford is averaging 5.8 FG, 2.5 3PT and 2.8 FT per game.
She's shooting .372 from the field (181-487), .317 in threes (77-243) and .869 at the charity stripe (86-99) - currently the 11th-best single-season average in team history.
Crawford ended the regular season ranked first in the AAC for field goal attempts (470), 3-point attempts (237) and free throw percentage (.871) and second for points (507) and treys (74) and fourth for points per game (16.9).
Her 243 total 3-point attempts are the eighth-most in Division I.
She has also been one of Tulsa's most prominent rebounders and assisters. Crawford is second on the team with 173 total rebounds, ranking only behind teammate Hadley Periman with a 5.6 average per game.
Crawford also leads the team in assists with 78 (2.5 apg). Tulsa is 7-2 when she records four or more in a game and 5-1 when having five or more.
She's earned five AAC Weekly Honorable Mention nods this season. The latest came in the final awards list after earning a double-double of 16 points and 10 boards at Wichita State (3/4) in the regular season finale.
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 20 times this season and paced the Hurricane in assists 10 times, steals eight times and rebounds seven times.

Ayson Adds Speed and Versatility

Kristol Ayson, a senior transfer from Jacksonville State and Arizona Western, has played in all 31 games with eight starts in the last nine games.
Ayson has hit three or more assists in 15 games, with a season-best of five assists against San Jose State (12/10).
Tulsa is 10-5 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 Charlotte (3/9) and a season-high 15 points in her first start for the Hurricane against Charlotte (2/5).
Ayson's scored in double-figures in four of the last five games.
She's third on TU with 44 steals at 1.4 per contest.
Ayson has led TU in steals nine 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.

Periman's Remarkable Improvement

Junior guard/forward Hadley Periman's game has grown tremendously, averaging 3.0 ppg/7.2 rpg/1.6 apg a year ago to 8.7 ppg/8.9 rpg/2.3 apg today.
Despite missing three nonconference games with injury, Periman is still the Hurricane's top rebounder with 248 boards, the AAC's seventh-highest total to go with the fifth-best average (8.9) this season.
She has 635 career rebounds with a career rate of 6.8 per game, marking the seventh-best average among all active players in the AAC.
Periman also blocks the ball better than everyone in the conference this season with a league-highs of 54 rejections at 1.93 per contest. She's the only AAC player with more than 40 blocks.
She ranks fifth in TU history with 135 career rejections and ninth with 635 boards, only three rebounds ahead of her teammate Delanie Crawford.
Her 17 rebounds against FAU (1/15) is tied for the fourth-most in a game by an AAC player this season.
Periman has led TU in rebounding 21 times, all in the last 24 games. She's also led the Hurricane in blocking for 24 games this season.
She has eight double-doubles this season, including a 20-point, 11 board game against Kansas City (12/15) - her first and only career 20+ point game.
She added her 8th double-double in the second-round loss to Charlotte (3/9) in the AAC Championship, earning 10 points and 14 rebounds.
Eight double-doubles is the fifth-most among all AAC players this year.
Periman was 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's surpassed Ashley Clark (seven in 32 games) for the 10th-most double-doubles in a single season for Tulsa.
Periman's stamina has also grown, averaging 32.83 minutes per game, the league's fourth-highest benchmark.
She played all 45 minutes against UAB (2/22) and 39:55 against Charlotte (3/9).

Cartwright the Swiss Army Knife

Mady Cartwright, a sophomore guard, shines on both offense and defense.
She is one of two players to start every game this season for TU (Crawford).
Cartwright is eighth in the American Athletic Conference with a .722 free throw percentage (83-115).
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 16 games this season, including in the last six games.
On offense, Cartwright leads the team in free throw attempts (115), ranks second for points (324) and third for average scoring (10.5).
On the defensive end, Cartwright is second on the team for steals (46) and third for total boards (114) and fourth for rebounds per game (3.7).
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 9-4 this season when Cartwright steals the ball two or more times in a game and 9-3 when assisting on three or more field goals.

Tidbits on the TCU Transfer Paige Bradley

Redshirt junior Paige Bradley, an offseason transfer from TCU, has made an impact for the Hurricane in 26 starts across 27 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 (111) and third for boards per game (4.1).
Bradley had her first double-figure scoring game for Tulsa against Marshall (11/23) in the WBCA Showcase, where 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 earned her first career AAC Weekly Honorable Mention after averaging 16.0 points and 8.0 boards in wins over San Jose State and UMKC.
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 TU's fourth-ever perfect 3-point shooting game with a minimum of four attempts.
With the NCAA easing up on jersey number restrictions over the offseason, Bradley is the first Golden Hurricane to don #7 in program history.

Rolling Hill Succeeded 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 nine games for a medical decision.

Hurricane Sets Program Comeback Record at UAB

Tulsa enjoyed its largest comeback in program history last time out against UAB (2/22), erasing a 20-point deficit to win in over time, 72-68.
TU was down 36-16 with nine minutes left in the third quarter before chipping away at the gap and eventually earning its first lead in the game off a Delanie Crawford 3-pointer with less than a minute to play in regulation.
Saturday's 20-point comeback breaks Tulsa's previous school record by three points, which was a 17-point deficit erasure in this year's season opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The win ties for 28th on the all-time NCAA largest comeback wins list (as of Jan. 12, 2025).

We Share Because We Care

Tulsa has been a top three assisting team in the AAC since the Temple game.
Currently, the Hurricane is first in the league for assists per game at 14.65 with no single player averaging more than 2.5 per contest.
TU has assisted 454 of 727 field goals this season at a rate of 60%.
Tulsa has six games with 20+ assists and 10 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 5-1 when recording 20 or more assists.

Get Used to the Hurricane 3-Ball

TU has been one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the AAC all season.
Although the Hurricane is seventh with a .317 3-point average, Tulsa shoots the deep often, earning the second-most made triples in the league per game at 8.29.
Tulsa has averaged 8.6 team threes per game in the last five games.
The Hurricane has reached 10 or more treys in a game 11 times this season, going 8-3 in such contests.
TU reached a season-high 13 made threes in a road loss at Temple (1/11) and recorded a season-high 38 3-point attempts at Memphis (3/1).
Delanie Crawford is one of five AAC players this season to reach seven made triples in a single game (vs. Charlotte (2/5)). Elise Hill had six at North Texas (1/1).

Home, Road, Neutral

Tulsa has played 31 games with 15 at home, 11 on the road and five neutral site games … here's a look at the comparative stats:

Site                  FG                                3Pts                 FT                    REB                  Pts
Home (15)       .402 (376-936)             .304 (118-388) .694 (168-242) 40.1 (601)       69.2 (1038)
Road (11)        .388 (264-681)             .351 (105-299) .688 (108-157) 36.9 (406)       67.4 (741)
Neutral (5)      .373 (112-300)             .272 (34-125) .685 (61-89)    34.4 (172)       63.8 (319)
Totals (31)       .392 (752-1917)          .317 (257-812) .691 (337-488) 38.0 (1179)     67.7 (2098)
Opp. Totals     .386 (733-1900)          .325 (189-581) .677 (360-532) 40.6 (1259)     65.0 (2015)

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.

Crawford and Periman Climbing the Career Charts

Delanie Crawford through 123 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 261, passing Kelsee Grovey's (2012-16) record 233 made threes against UTSA (1/22)
Crawford ranks third in career points (1,720), needing 23 more to pass Taleya Mayberry's (2009-13) 1,742 points for second on the all-time TU points chart.
Crawford is also fifth in field goals made with 587. She will need seven more to pass Larrissa Williams' (2006-10) 593 buckets for fourth.
Crawford's also eighth in made free throws (285) and ninth in free throw percentage (.819).
She ranks 10th with 632 rebounds, just 3 behind teammate Hadley Periman.
Finally, Crawford is ninth all-time in assists with 318. She needs four more to pass Alexis Gaulden's (2016-20) 321 assists for eighth.
Junior Hadley Periman has played 93 games for Tulsa. She ranks ninth for career rebounds with 635.
Periman also ranks fifth in TU history with 135 blocks.