Tulane Women Break Six-Game Skid, Top Memphis, 63-58
In this story:
With Tulane down two as the clock approached the two-minute mark, Kendall Sneed put home a tying layup that sparked a 9-2 run for the Green Wave over the final 2:09 of action en route to a 63-58 triumph Tuesday night over Memphis at Elma Roane Fieldhouse. With the Mardi Gras victory, Tulane snaps a six-game losing streak to improve to 9-16 (4-9 American). The Tigers drop to 8-17 (2-10 American).
Both teams shot at least 40 percent with Memphis hitting the mark exactly. Tulane tallied a 42.9 percent clip with four made threes, doubling the two of the Tigers. The Wave went 17-of-23 at the stripe for a 73.9 percent rate while the Tigers hit just 47.1 percent at the line (8-of-17). Tulane was guilty of nine more turnovers, 24-15, but Memphis could only secure four more points off turnovers (19-14). The glass was where Tulane shined the brightest, holding a 40-24 rebounding advantage.
A trio led the way in double figures for the Wave with Amira Mabry’s 13 points topping the team. Kanija Daniel contributed 12 points, and Jayda Brown delivered 11. Rebounding was a balanced effort as seven players secured at least four boards with Mabry, Kendall Sneed, and CC Mays each notching five to tie for the team lead. Shiloh Kimpson dished a team-high seven assists for a new career high. Daniel recorded a pair of blocks with Dyllan Hanna adding one.
The game began as a defensive slugfest. Kendall Sneed opened the scoring with a free throw 21 seconds into the contest, but Memphis would respond with a field goal and pull in front 6-2 at the 6:35 mark. After a pair of foul shots by Shiloh Kimpson, the Tigers put home a layup. At the 4:14 mark, Jayda Brown delivered a lay-in for Tulane’s first field goal of the contest. Settling in, Tulane pulled in front 10-9 after Amira Mabry went inside for a score. The lead see-sawed across the final two minutes of the quarter with Mabry’s basket in the closing minute pushing Tulane ahead 14-13 entering the second stanza.
Memphis opened the second quarter with a three to retake the lead, and once again the defenses for both teams clamped down. Neither team scored again until the 6:48 mark when Kanija Daniel tallied a pair of free throws to tie the contest. After a Memphis score, Mecailin Marshall deposited a trey for a Wave lead. Mabry followed with a layup, but Memphis notched one of its own. Jayda Brown responded with a bucket, kicking off a five-point swing for the Wave. After a Tiger score, Brown connected on a three. She added another score with just under a minute-and-a-half to go to push Tulane up by 10, 33-23. However, Memphis embarked on a seven-point run to close the half, trimming the lead to 33-30 at the break.
Mabry opened the second half with a layup, but Memphis was prompt to respond. The Tigers pulled within a point before Daniel connected on a triple to provide some breathing room for Tulane. However, the Tigers parried with a trey of their own to cut the margin back to a point (38-37). After trading baskets, Memphis pulled level with a layup at 41-all. Marshall pushed Tulane back in front with a score, and Madison Gordon connected on two foul shots to push the Wave back ahead by four. Memphis found a groove, however, pulling in front 47-45 at the 2:53 mark of the quarter. Daniel added a free throw to end the quarter, and Tulane entered the final frame down just one, 47-46.
Brown opened the fourth with a score to swap the advantage back in Tulane’s favor, and Dyllan Hanna later added a layup before a Sneed score pushed the margin to 52-47. Memphis scored, but Sneed responded. The Tigers kept pushing, though, and used a seven-point run to pull ahead 56-54 with 2:14 to go. Sneed stayed hot and added a layup with 2:09 remaining, tying the game back up. After a Memphis turnover, CC Mays put the Wave back in front at the 1:22 mark with a three. The Wave defense clamped down from there, forcing a pair of turnovers and a missed shot before the Tigers had to resort to fouling with 13 seconds left. Tulane closed the game out from there at the stripe, holding steady late for the 63-58 win.
Tulane and Memphis are in a rematch on Thursday when the Tigers come to New Orleans. Tip-off at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
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.