Jan. 12, 2012
Final Stats
El Paso, Texas -
Final Stats in PDF 
A trio of Tulsa players scored in double digits, but it wasn't enough as TU dropped a 67-56 decision to UTEP on Thursday night at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas. TU fell to 6-8 on the season and 1-2 in Conference USA, while the Miners moved to 14-2 overall and 3-0 in the league.
"Our shooting has been our Achilles heel all season long, we just haven't been able to make shots," Head Coach Matilda Mossman said. "UTEP is the number one team in our league right now, so I feel good about how we played them on their court. They dominated us inside, but one victory was that we did outrebound them, so we'll take that and try to build on it."
Chanice Scott had a team-best 14 points, followed by Tiffani Couisnard and Taleya Mayberry with 10 apiece. Mariah Turner added nine points, while Taylor Hooker had seven. Loren McDaniel pulled down a team-leading 13 rebounds, 11 of which were on the defensive end of the court.
TU shot just 29-percent from the field, including 21-percent from behind the arc, but went 23-for-29 (79-percent) from the charity stripe. The Hurricane had a narrow 40-39 lead in rebounds, while the Miners had a 10-8 advantage in steals and both teams had five blocks. Both teams had eight fast-break points, while Tulsa had a 20-16 lead in points off turnovers.
With 18:24 on the clock, the score was tied 3-3, but the Miners went on a 13-4 run to own a nine-point advantage with 12:26 left in the first half. Turner scored six straight points and then Hooker added three to pull within two (18-16) with 9:20 on the clock, but the Miners inched ahead again to take a 34-25 advantage into the break. Tulsa struggled to knock down shots in the second half, hitting just 6-for-26, but continued to battle for the final 20 minutes.
UTEP was led by Kayla Thornton with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Anete Steinberga recorded 10 points. Gloria Brown had three blocks and Kelli Willingham had three steals.
Tulsa will return to action on Sunday, January 15th against Rice. Game time is set for 2:00 pm at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.
In eight years as a member of Conference USA, Tulsa athletic teams have won a league-best 48 conference championships.
Follow Tulsa Athletics all season by downloading the full TU athletics schedule to your Outlook or iCal calendars.
Purchase your season football tickets today online or by calling 918.631.GoTU. Family of four can see all six home games for under $200.
Since the opening of the Donald W. Reynolds Center in 1998, Tulsa’s athletic facilities have undergone a major facelift. New facilities include the Michael D. Case Tennis Center, the Collins Family Softball Complex, the Hurricane Soccer and Track Stadium, the J. Bird Sr. Shell Nest, the Jack Zink Indoor Rowing Center, the Case Athletic Complex and major renovation to H.A. Chapman Stadium.
TU is 75th among national doctoral universities in U. S. News & World Report's 2012 edition of America's Best Colleges. TU's 2011 freshman class had a mean cumulative grade point average of 3.8, and 74 percent graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school classes. Their average ACT was 28.
The Golden Hurricane Club, as the primary fundraising arm of TU Athletics, works to provide every TU student-athlete with the opportunity to realize a world-class athletic and academic experience.
Get an inside look at all Tulsa Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Fans can Tweet with first-year Head Coach Danny Manning @CoachDManning.
