Crawford was the driving force on offense.
Delanie Crawford broke her career-high for most points scored in a single game at The University of Tulsa’s women’s basketball season opener against Lindenwood University on Nov. 6. The 35 points she scored puts her at the second-most-all-time in TU history.
“Delanie Crawford embodies everything our team is about,” said TU head coach Angie Nelp. “I’m just so proud of this whole team. Credit to Delanie, we do want to talk about her and her courage on the floor and the things she does for us. Everybody sees the points, but she does so much more on the floor.”
Her efforts combined with Temira Pointdexter and Katie Gallegos allowed The Golden Hurricane to return home with a 89-80 victory over the Lions. The three combined for 81 points and scored all of TU’s points in the first three quarters of the game.
Tulsa asserted itself from the very start with senior guard Gallegos scoring a successful layup off a pass from Hadley Periman. She was fouled during the attempt, and her visit to the free-throw line earned TU an additional point to put itself 3-0. Lindenwood would fire back with a fastbreak layup in the paint to put itself right behind TU.
Despite the close start, Lindenwood’s offense would find itself unlucky as its missed shots led TU to go on a 15-0 scoring run to put the score at 18-2. At the quarter’s halfway mark, Reagan Rapert would help lift the Lions out of its rut with her three successful shot attempts bringing Lindenwood 22-11. With the Lions starting to find its groove, it was able to pick away at the gap, and the first quarter came to an end with the score at 25-19.
The Golden Hurricane slowed down in the second quarter, allowing the Lions to catch up in points. Halfway through the quarter, Lindenwood was able to go on an 8-0 scoring run to even the score 36-36. The Lions continued to put pressure on TU offensively, the lead going back and forth between the teams in the last two minutes. Halftime came around with the score at a close 42-41.
As the second half was underway, the tight battle from the first half continued, the score tying four times throughout the third quarter. A 7-0 run from Crawford at the six-minute mark brought the Hurricane to a more comfortable lead of 60-53. The Golden Hurricane would hold this lead for the rest of the quarter, the score sitting at 68-61 by the end of it.
The fourth quarter saw TU with a tight grip on its lead, not allowing Lindenwood any chances to tie. It also witnessed shots from Mady Cartwright, Amira Brown and Caranda Brown. With their contributions added to the leading trio’s, TU ended the game with 89-80 victory.
The Golden Hurricane continued its victory momentum throughout the week and came with a breezy victory of 88-61 against New Orleans at its home opener on Friday, Nov. 10. It challenged Northwestern State that same weekend and it will continue to face Oral Roberts on Nov. 18.
