Women’s Basketball finish off a week of victories

Sports editor Jaralynn Tammi Morellano discusses the Golden Hurricane’s improvement.
The University of Tulsa women’s basketball team went on the road to face Charlotte in North Carolina on Saturday, Jan. 27. Riding high from its clutch victory over Rice on Jan. 24, the Hurricane’s fighting prowess was put to the test with another close battle against the 49ers.
Charlotte drew the first points in the game at the Halton Arena. Tulsa followed up with a 10-0 run to bring the score 10-2 in the Golden Hurricane’s favor, half of which were scored by starting guard Mady Cartwright. 49ers head coach Cara Consuegra called a timeout to put an end to the streak; however, Cartwright scored a three-pointer upon continuation to score her eighth point less than five minutes into the game.
As Tulsa hit its stride, they were able to lead by as much as 14 points by the one-minute mark of the period, the score sitting at 20-6. Charlotte bagged some points of its own, and Nia Young and Olivia Porter combined to bring the score 20-11 at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter saw a rocky start for the Golden Hurricane as the 49ers completed a 5-0 run to trail Tulsa by four points. Delanie Crawford’s three-pointer cured the Golden Hurricane’s dry spell and started her 10-point streak of the quarter to keep the Golden Hurricane in the lead.
Despite Crawford’s efforts, Tulsa had 10 turnovers which the 49ers scored 10 points off of. Charlotte continued to pick away at the gap throughout the quarter and a layup by Dasia Lawrence brought both teams to an even standing of 29-29. Caranda Perea’s jumper from the corner secured Tulsa the lead 31-29 as the game entered halftime.
Charlotte took the first four points of the third quarter, taking its first lead of the game since the start. Perea continued as the hero of the court, her corner three bringing Tulsa a tightly held lead for the rest of the game. The Golden Hurricane could not gain a big lead for the rest of the quarter, ending with them ahead 45-39.
The 49ers continued by taking the first points of the fourth quarter, scoring the first three. Tulsa refused to give up the lead again and went on a 9-2 run to bring them to a 10-point lead, the score sitting at 54-44.
Perea made another three-pointer from the top of the key to put the Golden Hurricane 57-46 in the last four minutes of the match. This would be her second double-figure scoring of the season. Tulsa would not stray from its scoring path for the rest of the period, making 80% of its free throws to end with a 10-point victory of 65-55.
Charlotte’s loss brought its record down to 12-8 overall, and they will continue on to New Orleans to face the Green Wave of Tulane on Jan. 31. This win improved the Golden Hurricane’s record to 16-5 overall, 6-2 in the American Athletic Conference, for the season. Tulsa will be back on the road Thursday night, Feb. 1, to go against East Carolina at 5 p.m. C.T.