Kansas Slips Past Golden Hurricane

Four Tulsa women's basketball players scored in double figures, but Kansas edged the Golden Hurricane 82-78 on Sunday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan.

TU fell to 4-4 on the season, while KU moved to 6-5 overall.

Mariah Turner and Ashley Clark led the TU attack with 18 points apiece, while Kelsee Grovey added 13 points and Stevi Parker tied her career best with 10. Turner, Grovey and Clark also led Tulsa with five rebounds apiece, while Erika Lane picked up six assists.

TU shot 47-percent from the field, 41-percent from three-point range and 84-pecent from the free throw line in the contest. The Jayhawks hit 52-percent of their shots, but just 35-percent from behind the arc, and shot 70-percent from the charity stripe.

Kansas had a 35-30 lead in rebounds, a 21-18 advantage in assists, an 8-5 lead in steals and a 3-1 advantage in blocks.

KU jumped out to a 9-0 lead before Mariah Turner scored TU's first basket at the 15:34 mark, which sparked a 16-9 run for the Golden Hurricane. Tulsa pulled to within three (19-16), but the Jayhawks tallied the next eight points to once again pull away from the Hurricane. TU inched back and was within three twice more and trailed 36-33 at the break.

Ashley Clark had 12 of TU's first half points, while Turner had eight. TU shot 41-percent in the first frame, but were just 1-of-5 from three-point range, and hit 4-of-5 from the charity stripe. The Jayhawks hit 42-percent of their shots in the first half and went 10-of-14 from the free throw line.

KU started the second half with a 14-6 run in just the first four minutes off the clock for a 50-39 advantage. Stevi Parker hit back-to-back three's and got a steal that earned Grovey a basket and Tulsa pulled to within one point (62-61) with 9:35 remaining. Kansas put together a 9-2 run to take another multi-basket lead, but the Golden Hurricane fought back and trailed by two (78-76) with 1:01 left to play and dropped a 82-78 decision.

Asia Boyd led all scorers with 22, while Chelsea Gardner had 18, CeCe Harper added 15 and Natalie Knight scored 11. Gardner pulled down eight rebounds and had three steals, while Harper had a double-double as she picked up 13 assists.

Tulsa will return to action on Dec. 29 against Harvard in the Fordham Holiday Classic at Rose Hill Gym in Bronx, N.Y.