AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 9, 2025

Angie Nelp

Delanie Crawford

Dickies Arena

Tulsa Golden Hurricane

Postgame Press Conference

Charlotte - 71, Tulsa - 66

THE MODERATOR: We'll go ahead and get started with an opening statement from Coach and then take questions for the student-athletes.

ANGIE NELP: Yeah, I felt like it was a really competitive, hard-fought game on both sides of that. Hat's off to Charlotte who played a great game. Really felt like our team fought really hard. Proud of the spurts that we had. We had some really good moments where we found really great flow offensively. Then even defensively in some critical possessions as we were kind of chipping a way at the lead a little bit and making it be a little bit of a closer game. I was really proud of our team's fight, really proud of our team's heart, really proud of the way that they stayed together.

THE MODERATOR: All right, questions, please.

Q. You seemed a little sluggish early on. What did you see early that caused you guys some problems?

ANGIE NELP: Yeah, well, when you look at that first quarter, right, our field goal percentage wasn't where we wanted it to be in that first quarter. I feel like that's a lot of teams that come into it, just a different stage and a new stage. You got to get used to the lights a little bit, and I felt like our team came out of have really, really well. I felt like we had some good moments, even though the shots didn't fall early for us, where we just kept continuing to be a team that was going to throw punches, and so we tried to do that early on.

Q. They talked earlier in the first interview session about how they had decided to maybe play more guards, unlike something that they had done maybe the first two games, to try to prevent you guys from shooting so many 3s. What did you see from what they were doing to y'all defensively?

ANGIE NELP: Well, they certainly went to a smaller lineup against us pretty early on, whether that was strategy or whether that was because of foul trouble. Some of their bigs got some fouls early which kind of forced them to go into that way. Whenever they did that we were able to cut on them a little bit and move without the ball a little bit more. I felt like we got good shots, I felt like they just didn't fall for us early. I felt like our team's flow was kind of in and out this game, and the moments that we had really great flow I thought that we played pretty well against them.

Q. You talked earlier in the year about guarding without fouling and that seemed to be more of a problem today than it maybe had been the last four, five games of the year. What did you see from your defense today?

ANGIE NELP: Yeah, we do need to do a better job of defending without fouling. That's been a huge growth area for our team, I felt like our team has grown a lot in that area today. Got away from us a little bit within the game. I felt like we maybe overplayed just some of their quicker guards a little bit, struggled to contain the ball at different times throughout the game. I felt like overall we played really well defensively with the exception of there were a couple of these spurts where we really let the penetration get away from us a little bit and put us in rotations, which is where we didn't want to be in that.

Q. I ask this question every time we talk and so I'll just ask it again and see if you have a different answer for it this time. What about Delanie Crawford and her career?

ANGIE NELP: I cannot say enough about our two seniors, Lexie Foutch and Delanie Crawford. I'll speak to Delanie who is here with me. She's not just an amazing person and a tremendous leader, obviously her basketball accolades speak for themselves, but the selflessness that is right here is what you want the foundation of every winning program to be created by. Delanie will have her legacy and she will have her footprint on every single aspect of our program and even in the future as well. She has a career ahead of her to continue to play pro and continue to compete. Both to her and Lexie Foutch, we cannot express our gratitude enough to both of them for everything that they have given to our program and the way that they lead and the people that they are. Certainly been an honor to coach and every single person who is lives they have touched is better because of those two.

Q. Delanie, what did you see out there today and kind of what were they doing against you in this game?

DELANIE CRAWFORD: Yeah, I mean, I don't think they did a, I mean, I did a lot to myself, I don't think they did a whole lot. Like I could have scored more, I could have been a better passer. The foul trouble got me. I mean, I don't think they did anything that we couldn't have handled. I think maybe I played too aggressive sometimes, and some of 'em were just unlucky. So I think the foul trouble is really what got me in that area.

Q. What did you feel like -- it seemed like you had some opportunities where you got the basket, but then struggled to convert at the rim. Kind of what were you seeing in those situations?

DELANIE CRAWFORD: Yeah, unlucky. Sometimes maybe focus more maybe there's little things I could have done differently, could have played better all around, but sometimes it doesn't go your way.

Q. At what point will you think about what your legacy is at Tulsa?

DELANIE CRAWFORD: I mean, I know there's accolades and records and all that stuff, but yeah, I mean, I hope I left this place better than I found it. I hope I left my teammates with something that made an impact on them. I hope people see me more than just a basketball player, like I want to be known as other things, and I hope I left my imprint on them as a follower of Christ and in other aspects of my life, but I hope that's my legacy more than just basketball.