Three TU Women's Players Leaving

Top Returning Scorers To Leave Tulsa<br/><br/>TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- The top two returning scorers on Tulsa's women's basketball team are among three players that plan to transfer.<br/><br/>Guards

Tuesday, April 24th 2007, 1:16 pm

By: News On 6

Top Returning Scorers To Leave Tulsa

TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- The top two returning scorers on Tulsa's women's basketball team are among three players that plan to transfer.

Guards Jamie Dreiling, Valerie Siemens and Micaela Cully all requested and received releases from their scholarships.

"With what we knew they could bring next year, we hate to see them go," Tulsa coach Charlene Thomas-Swinson said. "They were good student-athletes. Now we have to pick up the pieces and fill the void of what they brought in scoring. We wish them well and I expect them to be successful."

With the departure of Jillian Robbins, the school's career scoring and rebounding leader, to the WNBA, Dreiling and Siemens would have been the top two scorers returning for the Golden Hurricane next season.

Dreiling averaged 7.9 points and Siemens averaged 7.8 points last season as Tulsa went 11-19 and failed to defend its first Conference USA championship.

Dreiling, who started 16 games last season, said she would return to Texas but didn't know what school she would attend.

"I love Tulsa," Dreiling said. "I just think it is my time to leave. Sometimes you just need to move on. It was nothing personal."

Siemens, who is from Augusta, Kan., started all 30 games last season as a freshman. Cully played in 12 games and scored 6 total points in her freshman season.

The Golden Hurricane's top returning scorer now will be forward Larrissa Williams, who averaged 4.9 points as a freshman last season.