Young Tulsa team uses late-game defense to win Shootout opener

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Tulsa sophomore guard Shug Dickson has her shot blocked by Binghamton senior center Alyssa James during the opening game of the GCI Great Alaska Shootout at the Alaska Airlines Center on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017. (Bill Roth / ADN)

If the first game is any indication, the final edition of the GCI Great Alaska Shootout should be a good one.

The 40th and final Shootout tipped off Tuesday with a down-to-the-wire finish in a women's game between the Binghamton Bearcats and the Tulsa Golden Hurricane.

Tulsa held Binghamton scoreless in the final five minutes and ended the game on an 8-0 run to win 60-55 in the first meeting between the two schools.

"Really proud of the way our group handled the last five minutes of the game," said Tulsa coach Matilda Mossman, who coached Arkansas to a fourth-place finish in the Northern Lights Invitational in 1982, 17 years before that tournament became part of the Shootout.

"The lead kept going back and forth in the fourth quarter and at one point we had to get three or four stops in a row and we came back down on our end and made three throws."

The victory puts Tulsa (3-2) in Thursday's 2:30 p.m. championship against the winner of Tuesday's late game between UAA and Maryland-Eastern Shore. Binghamton (3-2) plays the loser at noon.

Binghamton led 55-52 with five minutes to go before sophomore guard Shug Dickson started Tulsa's run with a layup and a pair of free throws that put Tulsa ahead for good, 56-55.

Dickson led a young Golden Hurricane team — its roster features two seniors — with 14 points and nine rebounds.

In the final minute, Binghamton had a chance to take the lead, but couldn't get an Alyssa James shot in the post to roll in.

"We beat ourselves by not scoring, but I thought we got some good looks," Binghamton coach Linda Cimino said. "If that ball could've bounced the other way, we could've won."

Tulsa pulled away by making four free throws in the final 13 seconds — two by senior guard Erika Wakefield and two by Dickson.

Sophomore forward Kendrian Elliott added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Golden Hurricane.

The Bearcats were led by senior guard Imani Watkins, who scored 17 points on 7 of 14 shooting from the field.

This is the first Shootout for both teams.