Green Wave Women Falls to No. 24 Alabama
In this story:
This Week's Coverage of Tulane's First CFP Appearance
Monday: Two Words for Those Who Think TU & JMU Should Not Be in the CFP
Tuesday: Tulane offense vs Ole Miss
Wednesday: Wave defensive angle against the Rebels
Thursday: Hear from Some Fans making their way to Oxford.
Friday: What are Fans Doing Who are Not Going to the Game
After a tight first quarter in Coleman Coliseum Wednesday evening, No. 24 Alabama pulled away in the second quarter en route to an 81-52 victory over Tulane. The Green Wave moves to 4-6 on the season as the Crimson Tide improves to 13-0.
Alabama shot better for the contest with a 43.5 percent overall clip and a 39.4 percent mark from three. The Wave hit at a 32.8 percent clip with a 29.2 percent mark from three. The Tide won the glass 43-37, but offensive rebounds were even at 15 apiece. Alabama claimed the turnover battle with 16 forced and 13 committed, and the Tide converted 25 points off turnovers in comparison to the 13 converted by Tulane. Blocks were even at five each.
A trio of Wave players reached double figures in the contest with CC Mays leading the way at 12 points. She added three rebounds and three assists. Amira Mabry and Mecailin Marshall each netted 10 points. Mabry secured six rebounds to reach 500 for her career. Marshall added three boards. Dyllan Hanna led on the glass with nine rebounds, and she had four of the five Tulane blocks. Jayda Brown had the other. Marshall had two of the three Wave steals, and Shiloh Kimpson had the remaining one. Kendall Sneed dished a team-leading four helpers.
Green Wave Started Strong
Tulane won the opening tip and cashed in the first bucket with a CC Mays triple. However, Alabama responded with back-to-back threes as part of seven points in a row. Kendall Sneed connected from deep to make it a one-point game. After a pair of Alabama free throws, Mecailin Marshall hit from beyond the arc to tie the contest at 9-9. Alabama responded with the following five points, but Jayda Brown kept it close with a basket. The Tide pulled ahead to a 20-13 lead, but Mays kept Tulane in striking distance with a jumper. A Bama layup to close the quarter made the score 22-15 after 10 minutes of play.
The Tide claimed the first four points of the second quarter, but Dyllan Hanna put home a layup to keep the margin at single-digits. However, Alabama took control with the next four points, and a late three pushed the Tide lead to 36-23. Another three in the final minute of the half stretched the Alabama advantage to 39-23 at the break.
Third Quarter Beginning of a 'Bama Run Away
Alabama opened the second half with the first seven points to make the margin 46-23. Hanna notched the first Tulane points of the half with her layup. After an Alabama score, Marshall and Mays notched back-to-back buckets, but a Tide score pushed the margin to 21 points. Amira Mabry buried a pair of threes near the end of the third quarter, but Alabama scored one of its own at the buzzer to push its lead to 60-40.
The deficit proved too large to mount a comeback, and Alabama outscored Tulane 21-12 in the final quarter of play. With that, the Tide secured an 81-52 win.
The Wave returns home this weekend to host the Tulane Holiday Tournament as the closer of non-conference play. Action opens at noon on Saturday, December 20, at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse with a match-up against Delaware State. Mercer and Detroit Mercy square off at 2:30 p.m. to round out the opening day of the event. The consolation game between the day one losers is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. Sunday, and the championship game between the winners is set to follow at 1:30 p.m. Tulane’s contests will be streamed on ESPN+ and can be heard on WRBH 88.3 FM and through the Varsity Network App.
Doug has covered a gamut of sporting events in his fifty-plus years in the field. He started doing sideline reporting for Louisiana Tech football games for the student radio station. Doug was Sports Director for KNOE-AM/FM in Monroe in the mid-80s, winning numerous awards from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association for Best Sportscast and Best Play-by-Play. High school play-by-play for teams in Monroe, Natchitoches, New Orleans, and Thibodaux, LA dot his resume. He did college play-by-play for Northwestern State University in Natchitoches for nine years. Then, moving to the Crescent City, Doug did television PBP of Tulane games and even filled in for legendary Tulane broadcaster, Ken Berthelot in the only game Kenny ever missed while doing the Green Wave games. His father was an alumnus of Tulane in the 1940s, so Doug has attended Tulane football games in old Tulane Stadium, the Superdome, and Yulman. He was one of the 86,000 plus on December 1, 1973, sitting in the North End Zone to seeTulane shutout the LSU Tigers, 14-0. He was there when the Posse ruled Fogelman and in Turchin when the Wave made it to the World Series. He currently is the public address voice of the Tulane baseball team.