Tulsa Upset In Opening Round Of C-USA Tournament

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane fell behind early to East Carolina in the opening game of the Women's Conference USA Tournament and was unable to comeback, being upset by the 11th-seeded Pirates 59-49 Wednesday.

The Pirates came out of the gate hot and managed to build on their momentum to build a comfortable lead by halftime. East Carolina opened up the game on a 6-2 run, powered by two buckets from Chareya Smith, a lead that expanded to a 15-6 advantage by the seventh minute of the opening half.

East Carolina had little trouble expanding its lead, and held a 33-20 lead with four minutes left to go in the half, thanks in-part to perimeter shooting from Kristine Milal and Bryelle Smith.

Most of the offense dried up in the closing minutes of the half, and Tulsa closed the half on a 6-2 run to cut the lead to 35-26 heading into the break.

The offense was more plentiful in the opening of the second half, at least for East Carolina, and the Pirates built a big lead. ECU opened the half with an 11-2 run – including nine from Celeste Stewart –that spanned nearly six minutes and set the Pirates up with an 18-point lead early in the half.

From that point, Tulsa was never able to cut the lead to less than seven points, ending their tournament hopes.

Stewart was the top scorer in the game, finishing with 18 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Milal notched 12 points and nine boards in the win.

Taleya Mayberry was the lead scorer for Tulsa, finishing the contest with 15 points, with Taylor Hooker contributing 12 points, however no other TU player managed to score more than seven points.

The Golden Hurricane finishes the season 13-15, but will lose just one member of the starting five, and should build on the momentum of a young team in 2012.