NE Oklahoma News

Four Tulsa players scored in double figures to lead Tulsa to an 80-75 win over UCF on Saturday afternoon at Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Fla.  The Golden Hurricane moved to 13-3 overall and 3-0 in American Athletic Conference play, while the Knights fell to 9-5 overall and 0-2 in the league.

 

"I'm just so proud of the fight we showed down the stretch and the way we stayed together," Head Coach Angie Nelp said.  "The teamwork we have is unbreakable.  There are a lot of things from this game we can grow from, but overall I'm so proud of this team."

 

Maya Mayberry posted a team-best 18 points, while Delanie Crawford added 16 points, and both Maddie Bittle and Temira Poindexter scored 14.  Poindexter had team-bests of nine rebounds, five blocks, four steals and four assists. 

 

Tulsa will return to action on Saturday, January 14 against Houston beginning at 1:00 pm at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

 

How it Happened

The Knights jumped out to a 14-5 lead with 5:17 on the clock, but TU put together a 10-0 run to take a 15-14 edge at the 1:55 mark.  UCF, however, outscored Tulsa, 8-2, to close out the frame with a 22-17 advantage.  The Knights forced the Golden Hurricane into seven turnovers in the first 10 minutes and scored 11 points off those turnovers.

 

TU started the second frame with a 7-2 run to tie the game at 24-24 with 6:33 on the clock.  The Knights went up by five twice more in the second quarter, but owned just a two-point advantage, 35-33, at halftime.

 

UCF climbed to a six-point advantage, 44-38, with 7:55 on the clock in the third quarter, but back-to-back three's by Bittle and TU tied the game just 52 seconds later.  The Knights were able to tie the score again at 46-all, but Tulsa never trailed the remainder of the frame, including a 55-52 lead with 10 minutes to play. 

 

The Golden Hurricane climbed to a game-high nine point lead, 75-66, with 3:18 to play in the contest, but UCF went on a 7-0 run to pull within two, 75-73, with just 43 seconds on the clock.  Mayberry hit a three and Katelyn Levings converted on both free throw attempts before Anzhane' Hutton scored a layup for the final 80-75 score.

 

Game Notes

• Tulsa snapped a nine-game series winning streak that the Knights had over TU, dating back to TU's last and only other win in Orlando during the 2016-17 season.
• Maddie Bittle entered the game needing just five points to move into TU's top 20 in scoring in school history.  She had 14 points in the game and is in 20th place with 828 in her career.
• The Knights forced the Golden Hurricane into 16 turnovers and scored 23 points off those turnovers.
• Maddie Bittle had 10 third-quarter points.
• TU had a 16-15 edge in assists, a 6-0 lead in blocks and a 10-9 advantage in steals, while UCF had a 44-37 lead in rebounds.
• Tulsa had 32 points in the paint, 23 fast break points, 17 points off turnovers and 10 points off the bench, while UCF had 28 points in the paint, 23 points off turnovers, 21 fast break points and 20 points off the bench.
• Temira Poindexter went 6-of-6 from the free throw line, while Katelyn Levings was also perfect with 2-of-2.
• Ahrray Young hit all four field goal attempts in the game and finished with eight points in just under 17 minutes.
• TU shot 55% from the field in the second half.
• TU was 46.7 percent from the field, 44 percent from three-point range and 72.2 percent from the line, while UCF was 34.3 percent from the field, 32 percent from behind the arc and 67.9 percent from the line.
• The Knights were led by four players in double figures, including Anzhane' Hutton with 22 points, Laila Jewett (14), Rachel Ranke (13) and Mya Burns (10).  Hutton also pulled down 13 rebounds.

Original source can be found here