Nov. 11, 2010

Tulsa, Okla. - The University of Tulsa women's basketball team will kick off the 2010-11 season against sixth-ranked Emporia State on Saturday, Nov. 13th. Game time is set for 2:00 p.m. at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

With nine returning letterwinners, including three starters, four newcomers and a returning red-shirt sophomore, the Golden Hurricane women's basketball team plans to get back to its winning ways this season under sixth-year head coach Charlene Thomas-Swinson.

Sophomore Taleya Mayberry scored 26 points as TU easily dispatched of Cameron University, 76-52, in the only exhibition game of the season. Mayberry finished 12-for-15 from the field and added five assists, four rebounds and an astonishing eight steals in a game-high 30 minutes of action. Freshman Loren McDaniel had an excellent first outing with a 17-point, eight-rebound performance to lead Tulsa in the paint. Fellow freshman Amanda Mason came off the bench to drop 15 points, and senior Tatum Beer connected on three treys and scored 11.

Emporia State is the reigning NCAA Division II National Champions, as the Hornets tallied a 30-5 overall mark last season and also won the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Championship. ESU returns seven letterwinners, including three starters, from last season's team, and are coming off a 68-52 win over Evangel in their only preseason warm-up. In the contest, Alli Volkens had a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Kelsey Balcom added 11 points.

This will be the first meeting between TU and ESU on the women's basketball court.