Tulane Women Begin Important 4-Game Stretch in Tulsa Tonight
In this story:
Tulane makes its penultimate road trip of the regular season by heading to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for a match-up with the Golden Hurricane tonight. Tip-off between the Green Wave and Tulsa is set for 6:30 p.m. in the Reynolds Center with the contest streaming on ESPN+. It can also be heard on WRBH 88.3 FM.
This will be the 41st all-time meeting between the programs. Tulane leads the series 28-13, but Tulsa has won the last four match-ups, including a 76-73 battle earlier this season in New Orleans on January 6. The last two contests in Tulsa have gone to the Golden Hurricane. The Wave’s last win in the series was on the road, a 69-67 triumph on February 12, 2023.
Conference Tournament Ramifications on the Line
Tonight's contest begins an important run of the last four games of the year for the Wave. Currently, Tulane sits alone in the 10th position in the American Conference. The top ten teams in the 13-member league make it to Birmingham for the conference tournament, which begins March 10th.
Scouting the Hurricane
Tulsa is 17-9 on the season with a 9-6 conference clip. The Hurricane has lost three of its last four games but won last time out, 59-55, at home over UAB on February 20. Tulsa posts a scoring offense of 68.8 with a 41.7 percent shooting mark. From three, the Hurricane shoots 31.8 percent. Tulsa secures 37.1 rebounds per game and dishes 12.5 assists per contest. Mady Cartwright is the top scorer and assister, notching 15.5 points per game and 2.4 assists per game. Hannah Riddick leads on the glass with an average of 7.0, and Jada Clark leads on defense with a steals average of 1.7.
Green Wave on a Two-Game Win Streak
Tulane is 10-16 with a 5-9 American record. The Wave has won back-to-back contests, both over Memphis last week. Tulane tallies a scoring offense of 66.3 while shooting 40.1 percent overall and 28.5 percent from three. The Wave dominates on the glass with 39.5 rebounds per game, fifth in the conference. Tulane is second in the league for assists with 14.7, and the team is fourth in blocking at 3.8 per game. Kanija Daniel leads the team with 11.3 points per game as one of three in double figures. Amira Mabry and Mecailin Marshall each average 10.2 points per game. On the glass, Dyllan Hanna is 10th in the conference with 7.2 boards per game. Kendall Sneed dishes 4.0 helpers per game to rank seventh in the league. Tulane is the only team in the conference with two players in the top five for blocking with Hanna in third (1.5) and Daniel ranking fourth (1.0).
Sneed had to carried off the court in Memphis a week ago when she slipped on the floor and fell awkwardly. In Thursday's game, Sneed had a brace on her leg and was on crutches. Tulane coach Ashley Langford said Sneed is "day-to-day."
Conference Honors for Kimpson, Mabry
Earlier today a pair of Wave players earned weekly conference honors, highlighted by Shiloh Kimpson securing her second American Freshman of the Week award this season. Mabry was tabbed as an honorable mention selection for the week. Kimpson secured the honor after a career performance last Thursday against Memphis. The freshman made her first-career start and delivered 12 points and 10 assists for her first-career double-double. She nearly recorded a triple-double with six rebounds added in, with all three marks new career bests. Kimpson assisted on or scored 35 of Tulane’s 69 points in the win over the Tigers. She is the first Wave player with 10 assists in a game since Sneed dished out 11 last season against Florida on November 28, 2023.
Greenies by the Numbers
The Green Wave defense has been stingy in conference play, allowing just 63.4 points per game over 14 league battles. This mark is fourth in the American. Tulane boasts the lowest three-point percentage defense in the conference during league play at 26.3 percent, and the Wave has the third-lowest field goal percentage defense in conference play at 38.7 percent.
1,000 Point Category on the Horizon for Mays
CC Mays is closing in on a major milestone as the graduate student owns 977 points in her career. She needs just 23 more to reach the 1,000 points threshold. Mabry, who surpassed the mark earlier this season, is continuing to climb up Tulane’s all-time scoring leaderboard. The 33rd member of the program’s 1,000 points club is now 29th on the list with 1,041 points, and she needs just six more to reach 27th on the list, which is where head coach Ashley Langford and current Tulane ESPN+ color analyst Tiffany Aidoo both sit with 1,047 points apiece.
Tulane will return home on Saturday, February 28, to host Wichita State. The start time for the contest has changed as announced earlier this evening. Originally scheduled for 2:00 p.m., the match-up will now start at 1:00 p.m. at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse. The contest against the Shockers will be Tulane’s senior day and will stream on ESPN+. It can be heard on WRBH 88.3 FM
Portions Courtesy Tulane Athletics
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.