TU Women Fall To Northern Iowa

Mariah Turner tallied her second career double-double with a personal-best 24 points, as well as 11 rebounds, and Kadan Brady added 11 points, but it wasn't enough as the Tulsa women's basketball team dropped a 69-66 decision to Northern Iowa on Friday night at the Donald W. Reynolds Center. TU fell to 0-1 on the season, while UNI moved to 1-0 overall.

“I wasn't displeased, but I felt like there were too many moments when we panicked, especially in the first half,” Head Coach Matilda Mossman said. “In the second half, we were better at sharing the ball and moved better, but we just missed some shots. We missed opportunities on the defensive end to keep them out of three-point range. I am disappointed in the way we guarded their three's. I think if our team will just come out and compete harder, I think that was a problem tonight. Northern Iowa just outplayed us in terms of their effort and energy, and I think that is something we can fix.”

Along with Turner and Brady, Ashley Clark added nine points, Teanna Reid tallied eight points and Kelsee Grovey added seven points. Brady also pulled down eight rebounds, had a team-best five assists, and her and Reid had three steals.

In the second half, Grovey and Turner each hit a basket to start the second half and tie the contest at 33-all, but Amber Sorenson hit a three-pointer to take the lead back for UNI. Turner and Reid both hit jumpers to steal the lead for TU, making it 37-36. The score would be tied four more times, including a 44-44 score at the 15:28 mark, but Jen Keitel tallied a layup and the Panthers never relinquished the lead.

UNI climbed to a game-high 12-point lead (67-55) with 4:54 left to play, but the Hurricane went on a 11-2 run to trail by three, but time ran out.

With five lead changes and one tied score, the first half was tightly contested. Turner and Clark both scored a basket to put Tulsa up 4-0 to begin the game, but the Panthers took their first lead of the contest (7-6) with 15:50 on the clock.

Clark scored on a layup, but UNI hit two trey's to take a 13-8 advantage at the 12:03 mark for their biggest lead of the half. The Hurricane battled back to claim a nine-point advantage (29-20) with just 3:44 left in the half, but Northern Iowa went on a 13-0 run to end the frame with a four-point lead at the break (33-29).

Tulsa outshot the Panthers from the field, with a 44-percent clip from the field, including 31-percent behind the arc, and 56-percent from the free throw line. UNI was 40.3-percent from the field, 45-percent from three-point range and 42-percent from the charity stripe.

Madison Weekly scored a game-best 26 points, while Keitel added 16 points and 11 boards, and Sorenson posted 15 points for the Panthers.

UNI had a 43-36 lead in rebounds, a 12-10 advantage in steals and 3-2 lead in blocks, but TU had a 19-12 advantage in assists.

Tulsa will return to action on Monday, November 17 against Lamar. Game time is set for 6:00 pm at the Reynolds Center. It will proceed the men's basketball game against Creighton, which will begin at approximately 8:30 pm.