2019 Women's Basketball Championship Highlights - #7 Tulsa 61, #10 Wichita State 50

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – After falling to Wichita State by 22 points four days ago, No. 7 seed Tulsa earned its vengeance in the opening round of the 2019 American Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Championships with a 61-50 win over the No. 10 seed Shockers Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena. The Golden Hurricane will play No. 2 seed UCF at 6 p.m. ET Saturday. The Golden Hurricane has advanced from the first round to the quarterfinals for the past four years. Four Tulsa players reached double-digit scoring with Cryatal Polk (19 points), Rebecca Lescay (13 points) and Maddie Bittle (11 points) and Alexis Gaulden (10 points) combining for 53 points. Tulsa ended the night with 16 points off turnovers. Freshman Seraphine Bastin scored seven free throws and led Wichita State with a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds. Polk was off to a strong start offensively, accounting for eight of the Golden Hurricane’s 18 first-quarter points. Wichita State used a 7-0 run to briefly trim the deficit to one (14-13) before Lescay and Morgan Brady each drove to the rim for layups to give Tulsa five-point cushion (18-13) heading into the second quarter. Wichita State got within one after a 4-0 spurt, but Tulsa made three-straight field goals, including a pair of treys from Bittle to pull ahead by seven (31-24). Lescay ended the opening-half action with excitement, hitting a buzzer-beater three-pointer in transition to send the Golden Hurricane into the locker room with their largest lead of the night so far (34-26). Tulsa flexed its muscles on defense in the third quarter, forcing six-consecutive turnovers during a seven-minute window, while expanding its lead to 15 points after Bittle scored five-straight points, including her third trey of the night (45-30). She finished the night 3-for-4 from downtown. Wichita State then saw success on defense in the final frame, forcing seven turnovers and getting back within single digits. However, the Golden Hurricane hit their free throws and hung on for the lead. Fans can watch the entire tournament on ESPN platforms, including ESPN3, ESPNU and ESPN2. For more information on and continuing coverage of the American Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship, please visit Championship Central at www.theamerican.org/wbb.