Golden Hurricanes snap a three-game loss streak with an unexpected comeback.
The Tulsa women’s basketball team came into the game against UAB (University of Alabama, Birmingham), on Feb. 20, desperately wanting a win. They had lost their last three games, so with only four conference games after UAB and sitting in fifth before the game, the Golden Hurricanes wanted to finish the season strong.
However, UAB would prove a very frustrating opponent, with an incredibly well-organized defense that aggravated the Golden Hurricanes at every turn. However, the first quarter stayed very close, ending 10-15 with UAB in the lead, but the second quarter would be much different. Due to UAB consistently refusing Tulsa any easy shots, the Golden Hurricanes only put up 9 points in the second quarter. UAB, on the other hand, was excellent and shot almost 50% in every category throughout the first half. All in all, the half ended 33-19. Especially considering their recent run, it seemed as if the Golden Hurricanes were not going to be able to have the confidence to return to the court and make a comeback.
The third quarter was much of the same. Although Tulsa was better, they just couldn’t break into UAB’s lead. And, even more distressing, Mady Cartwright had a hard fall after jostling for the ball and needed to be taped up, so having one of your best offensive players be limited just when you need a strong run to get back in the game doesn’t help. But against a UAB defense that refused to let Tulsa get into any type of steady rhythm, it seemed like that didn’t even matter very much. By the start of the fourth, UAB still held a commanding 13-point lead over Tulsa, 48-35.
At the start of the fourth, however, Hannah Riddick made a layup and drew the foul. Even though she missed the free throw, she was able to get the ball back and lay it back in to reduce the deficit to 9. And then the Tulsa defense forced a turnover in transition and Hannah Riddick again made a layup to bring the difference to just 7 points. The game would go back and forth for a few minutes, but now it was Tulsa’s defense that was incredibly aggressive and forcing UAB to constantly readjust. Jade Clack, Hannah Riddick, and Mady Cartwright all came up big in the last few minutes, with Clack in particular getting the steal and layup to make it a three point game.
Another Riddick layup later and UAB is only up by one point, with 1:14 left. Suddenly, with Cartwright playing close defense, Eleecia Carter (UAB) seemed to shove the ball into Cartwright’s face, leading to a turnover and Cartwright taking two free throws. She drained them to give Tulsa the lead. Then, with another good defensive possession, Dora Toman would make the layup to give Tulsa the 3-point lead that would send the crowd into a roar. Forcing a bad shot selection, and making one last free throw, Tulsa would complete the incredible comeback to win 59-55.
Coach Angie Nelp would praise her team after the game, stating how special “the chemistry that they have and the connection that they have, and the way that they believe in each other” is. Mady Cartwright would say something similar when talking about her own mental resilience throughout the game, saying that “when it comes to getting hit and coming back up . . . it’s really what my team needs.” Considering the contributions from everyone across the team, and the continued mental focus throughout that was necessary to be able to even envision a comeback, it’s clear that this is a shared mentality, and one that will benefit them as they go into the final stretch of the season.
The Golden Hurricanes sit tied for third in the conference with South Florida and North Texas. They won’t play either of them in their last four games of the regular season, though. Instead, they will stay in Tulsa to face Tulane on Feb. 24, then go on the road to face Rice and University of Texas, San Antonio before ending the season back home against East Carolina, on March 7.
