Tulsa Holds On for 63-58 Win Over North Texas

Saturday, December 3

Reynolds Center

2:00 pm

Tulsa

3-5

North Texas

2-5

North Texas

Tulsa

Tulsa Holds On for 63-58 Win Over North Texas

12/3/2016 5:04:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Stephanie Hall

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Tatyana Perez and Kendrian Elliott both had career-bests to give the Tulsa women's basketball team a 63-58 win over North Texas on Saturday afternoon at the Donald W. Reynolds Center. TU moved to 3-5 on the season, while UNT fell to 2-5 overall.

Perez scored 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-7 from three-point range and a perfect 2-for-2 from the free throw line. Elliott added 12 points, and along with Crystal Polk team-bests of seven rebounds apiece. Erika Wakefield added 10 points.

The Hurricane shot 45-percent from the field, 58-percent from three-point range and 78-percent (18-of-23) from the charity stripe, while the Mean Green shot 33-percent from the field, 11-percent from behind the arc and 93-percent (14-of-15) from the free throw line.

"Tatyana went 4-for-7, then Addison [Richards] hit a big one and [Ashley] Hughes hit a big one, but that is the makeup of our team, we should be making three's," Head Coach Matilda Mossman said. "We only shot 12, and we've had games where we've shot 22, but North Texas guarded really well. They put lots of pressure on the ball, and they were aggressive in the passive lanes."

Tulsa had a 37-32 lead in rebounds, an 11-6 advantage in assists and a 3-2 edge in blocks, while North Texas had an 11-5 lead in steals. TU amassed 27 turnovers, while UNT had 18.

Both teams struggled to shoot the ball in the first quarter, with Tulsa going 2-of-8 for 25-percent and North Texas shooting 20-percent (4-of-20), for a 9-9 score at the end of the first frame. Five of the TU points were scored on the free throw line, as the Hurricane went 5-for-5 from the stripe.

Tulsa found a way out of their shooting troubles in the second quarter, hitting 58-percent from the field, including 100-percent from behind the arc (3-of-3) and added another five points from the free throw line. North Texas improved slightly to 21-percent from the field as the Golden Hurricane pulled to a 31-19 lead to end the first half.

TU continued to have a solid shooting performance, hitting 60-percent, while the Mean Green hit 50-percent of their shots in the third quarter. UNT outscored Tulsa, 16-14, in the third period but the Hurricane held on to a 45-35 lead.

North Texas inched back into the game in the final frame, pulling to within three points, 59-56, with just 1:35 left to play and again with 1:03 on the clock (61-58), but two free throws by Wakefield with just 11-second remaining would make the final score.

UNT had 31 points off the bench, 30 points in the paint, 19 second-chance points and 17 points off turnovers compared to TU's 22 points off the bench, 18 points in the paint, 4 second-chance points and 13 points off turnovers.

North Texas was led by Tosin Mabodu with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Terriell Bradley added nine points, while Candice Adams and Terra Ellison had eight points each.

Tulsa will return to action on Tuesday, December 6 at Arkansas State. Game time is set for 7:00 pm in Jonesboro, Ark.