Tulsa Cruises Past Southern Miss To Win Conference Opener

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane closed the first half on a big run and cruised to a 68-57 win over Southern Mississippi Thursday to open conference play with a win.

The two teams played close, with Tulsa holding a slim 12-9 lead just five minutes into the game, but that's when the Golden Hurricane turned on the offense. TU rattled off a 14-2 run, including five from Taleya Mayberry and four from Taylor Hooker, to take a 26-11 lead just six minutes later.

The Golden Hurricane kept pace with the Golden Eagles for the closing minutes of the half, and went into the locker room at halftime leading 41-21.

Tulsa held its lead for most of the second half, but things got dicey for the Golden Hurricane closing 12 minutes of the game. Trailing 53-36 with 12:11 left on the clock, Southern Mississippi cracked off 10 unanswered points, three each from Jamierra Faulkner and Nitesha Pierce, to close the gap to just seven points.

Late in the game still trailing by seven, the Golden Eagles attempted to turn the game into a free throw contest, but Tulsa converted on its chances to close the game out.

Mayberry led the charge for Tulsa, scoring 16 points and dishing out six assists, while Loren McDaniel turned in a double-double with 10 points and 12 boards in the win.

Pierce finished with a game-high double-double, scoring 22 points and coming away with 10 rebounds, with Tanecka Carey adding 13 points and five rebounds in the loss.

Tulsa will take just three days off before heading to West Virginia for a matchup against Marshall, looking to grab a second conference win.