Game Notes: TU Women Set To Face Temple

The Coaches
Tulsa: Matilda Mossman (Western Kentucky, 1979), 5th Year
Career Record: 212-164 (13 years)
Record at Tulsa: 65-71 (5 years)
 
Temple: Tonya Cardoza (Virginia, 1991), 8th Year
Career Record: 149-94 (8 years)
Record at Temple: same
 
Tulsa's Probable Starters
G          00       Kelsee Grovey, 5-8, Sr.-3L, Shawnee, Okla., 10.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg
G          3          Erika Wakefield, 5-4, So.-1L, Moore, Okla., 10.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.6 apg
F          21       Te'era Williams, 5-11, Jr.-RS, Oklahoma City, Okla., 4.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg
G          23       Ashley Clark, 5-11, Sr.-3L, Midwest City, Okla., 13.1 ppg, 6.6 rpg
F          33       Crystal Polk, 6-2, Fr.-HS, Lawton, Okla., 7.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg
 
Temple's Probable Starters
G          00       Alliya Butts, 5-4, So., Edgewater Park, N.J., 15.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg
G          1          Erica Covile, 6-1, Sr., Detroit, Mich., 10.2 ppg, 7.1 rpg
G          2          Feyonda Fitzgerald, 5-7, Jr., Norfolk, Va., 16.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg
G          22       Tanaya Atkinson, 5-9, So., New Haven, Conn., 12.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg
G          32       Donnaizha Fountain, 6-0, So., Roxbury, Mass., 9.1 ppg, 6.5 rpg
 
Tulsa Takes on Temple 
            Tulsa will face Temple in the middle of a three-game road swing on Friday, January 8.  Game time is set for 4:00 pm Central in Philadelphia, Pa.
 
2-0 to Start Conference Play
            This was the first time Tulsa went 2-0 in conference play since the 2007-08 season when the Golden Hurricane competed in Conference USA.  During that year, TU also won their first game of conference play in overtime against SMU (75-62) and narrowly topped Southern Miss (63-62). 
 
Making Assists
            Erika Wakefield has a team-best 51 assists this season, including a career-high 10 assists against SMU on January 2, 2016.  This marked the first time a TU player tallied 10 or more assists in a game since Taleya Mayberry had 10 against Akron on November 28, 2009.
 
The Last Game
            Tulsa dropped a 95-35 decision to top-ranked UConn on Wednesday night at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn. 
            Ashley Clark had a team-best 10 points for Tulsa, followed by Liesl Spoerl with six, andKelsee Grovey and Ashley Hughes with five each.  Te'era Williams recorded seven rebounds, Erika Wakefield had five assists and Spoerl had two steals.
            Tulsa shot 26-percent from the field, including just 11-percent from behind the arc, and were just 1-of-2 for the game from the free throw line, while UConn shot 50-percent from the field, 39-percent from three-point range and were 10-of-10 from the charity stripe.
 
The Opponent
            Temple has an 8-5 overall record, including a 2-1 mark in American Athletic Conference play, and put together a five-game winning streak that was snapped by a 69-67 loss to SMU in their last contest.
            The Owls are led by four players in double figures, including Feyonda Fitzgerald (16.2), Alliya Butts (15.8), Tanaya Atkinson (12.1) and Erica Covile (10.2).  Covile has a team-best 7.1 rebounds, Fitzgerald has 69 assists, Butts has 34 steals and Ugo Nwaigwe has 15 blocks.
 
Series History
            This will be the second meeting between Tulsa and Temple on the women's basketball court. The Golden Hurricane earned a 75-67 win over the Owls last season at home.
 
Adding Up
            Tulsa junior Ashley Clark became the ninth women's basketball player in school history to score 1,000 career points and one game later Kelsee Grovey tallied her 1,000th point.  Clark currently has 1,252 points and Grovey has 1,181 points.
 
The Losses
            In five of Tulsa's nine losses, TU has led at some point in the fourth quarter, but weren't able to sustain the advantage.  The Hurricane's closest decision came against Indiana State when Tulsa had the lead with 51-seconds to play.  TU also led George Mason (1:33 left), Kansas State (4:46 left), Drake (9:32 left) and Oral Roberts (to start the 4th quarter).
 
Mossman Has 212 Career Wins
            Matilda Mossman reached the 200-win milestone as Tulsa captured a 70-61 win over UCF on Jan. 31, 2015.  Mossman had 67 wins at Arkansas, 80 wins at Kansas State and currently 65 wins at TU for 212 career victories.
 
Clark Named to The American Preseason Team; Hurricane Picked Sixth
            Tulsa guard Ashley Clark was named to the American Athletic Conference preseason all-conference second team, while the team was picked to finish sixth in the Preseason Coaches' Poll.  In the coaches' poll, UConn was predicted to win the 2015-16 American Athletic Conference Championship, while USF was second and Temple third.  East Carolina, Tulane, Tulsa, Memphis, SMU, UCF, Cincinnati and Houston round out the poll.
 
In Tulsa's Top 10
            Four current Tulsa women's basketball players have earned their way into Tulsa's Top 10 career lists.
- Ashley Clark is third in double-doubles (11), fourth in field goals made (495), sixth in points (1,252), seventh in rebounds (641), ninth in assists (238) and 10th in free throws made (217)
- Kelsee Grovey is second in three-point field goals made (194), sixth in assists (260), seventh in points (1,181) and three-point field goal percentage with a .368 clip (194 of 527), eighth in free throw percentage with a .815 clip (181 of 222) and steals (151), and ninth in field goals made (403)
- Ashley Hughes is seventh in free throw percentage with a .821 clip (23 of 28)
- Teanna Reid is second in three-point field goal percentage with a .380 clip (51 of 134)
 
The Non-Conference Slate
            Tulsa's 11-game non-conference slate featured seven games against 2015 postseason teams.  All 11 of TU's non-conference opponents finished last year with double-digit wins, while Arkansas, Oklahoma and UALR competed in the NCAA Tournament; Drake, Kansas State and Northern Iowa played in the WNIT; and Oral Roberts participated in the WBI.
 
The League Opponents
            Tulsa will play host to 10-time National Champion UConn, as well as NCAA Tournament participants USF and Tulane, in American Athletic Conference action.
            Six teams in The American advanced to postseason play last year, as East Carolina, Temple and Tulsa competed in the Women's National Invitation Tournament.
 
UConn to Host American Championship
            UConn will host the 2016 American Athletic Conference Championship at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., from March 4-7.