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March 7, 2008
C-USA Photo Gallery 
ORLANDO, FLA. (SMU) - Janielle Dodds, Delisha Wills and Brittany Gilliam all scored in double figures and the Mustangs turned in one of their best defensive performances of the season as SMU drilled Tulsa, 68-49, Friday in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA Championship in Orlando, Fla.
Dodds scored a team-high 16 points, Gilliam 13 and Wills 12 for the Mustangs, who avenged two regular-season losses to the Golden Hurricane. Gilliam also led the team with four assists and four steals, anchoring a defensive effort that forced 23 Tulsa turnovers and held an opponent to 49 points for the second time this season (SMU beat Memphis, 93-49, Feb. 14 at Moody Coliseum). The point total was the lowest for an SMU opponent since SMU limited Marshall to 48 points last year in a 65-48 win.
Dodds admitted that the two losses to Tulsa - which ended the season with a record of 11-20 - weighed on the minds of the SMU players before the game.
"(Head coach) Rhonda (Rompola) talked about it some, but we talked about it among ourselves a lot," Dodds said. "I was furious that we lost twice to that team, and I wasn't going to let that happen again. A lot of us were furious about those losses, and we weren't going to let that happen again."
SMU got a lift from junior college transfer Brittani Allen, who hadn't played since the Memphis game because of an ankle injury. Allen came off the bench to hit a trio of three-pointers in a season-high nine-point performance.
The Mustangs will face the winner of Friday's Marshall/UAB game in the tournament semifinals at 2 p.m. (central time). The game can be heard on a tape-delay basis, starting around 6 p.m., on KKGM (1630 AM).
