Tulane Women Claim 1st AAC Victory at Wichita State
The Tulane women’s basketball team led by as much as 16 in the third quarter before the Wichita State Shockers began a comeback attempt Saturday afternoon in the Charles Koch Arena. The Green Wave, however, held firm to secure a 70-60 victory open the new year for the program’s first conference triumph of the season. Tulane improves to 6-8 (1-1 American) as Wichita State drops to 3-12 (0-2 American.)
The win marks Tulane’s fourth in a row over the Shockers after claiming all three match-ups last season. Today’s victory is also the first true road win for the Wave on the campaign.
Tulane D Wins the Turnover Battle
Wichita State held a slight shooting advantage with a 39.3 percent clip to Tulane’s 37.9 percent mark. Both teams connected on five three-pointers, but Tulane won the glass with a 40-37 advantage, including a 16-11 lead on the offensive end. Furthermore, the turnover battle heavily favored the Wave as the Shockers committed 21 giveaways for 28 extra Tulane points while the Wave gave the ball away just 14 times, tying the team’s season-low mark. Wichita State earned just 16 extra points off turnovers.
A Trio Hit Double Digits
Amira Mabry and Dyllan Hanna led the charge for Tulane with 14 points each. Hanna was a perfect 6-of-6 from the floor while Mabry hit a three and went 5-of-6 at the charity stripe. CC Mays added 12 points to make it a trio in double figures. It was a balanced effort on the glass as six players recorded at least five rebounds. Mabry, Mays, and Kendall Sneed each collected six to lead the team. Hanna, Mecailin Marshall, and Jayda Brown each notched five. Sneed dished six assists to pace the squad as Kanija Daniel added three. Daniel led with two blocks, and she tied with Mays and Brown at a pair of steals apiece to top the team.
Tulane won the opening tip and took a quick lead just 15 seconds in after a Dyllan Hanna layup. After the Shockers responded, CC Mays buried a triple to push Tulane back in front. Wichita State stayed on Tulane’s heels over the course of the first half of the first quarter until taking a one-point lead at the 4:59 mark. Later in the quarter, Hanna again put home an inside shot to swing the pendulum back in the Wave’s favor, and Mecailin Marshall knocked in a three for good measure. A three by Amira Mabry in the closing seconds lifted the Tulane lead to 19-10 after 10 minutes of action.
After trading scores to open the second frame, Jayda Brown connected beyond the arc for a 24-12 advantage. Wichita State hit a three later in the quarter, and the teams proceeded to trade off baskets. Mays connected on another three, and Brown added a layup later. Back-to-back Wichita State scores brought the Shockers back within 31-25, but Kendall Sneed ran one home inside. Hanna added a pair at the stripe before a Shocker three closed the half with Tulane ahead 35-28.
Another Green Wave Run
Kanija Daniel opened the second half with a layup, igniting a six-point run for the Wave out of the break as the lead stretched to 41-28. Sneed added a layup, and a Mabry free throw at the 4:55 mark extended the advantage to a game-high 16 points, 48-32. The Shockers began to chip away, however, pulling to within 49-41 with just over a minute remaining in the quarter. A Marshall bucket pushed the lead back out to 10, but a Shocker free throw with 30 seconds to go closed the quarter and trimmed the Wave lead to 51-42 entering the final frame.
Wichita State scored the first four points of the fourth, pulling within 51-46. Mays and Hanna helped nix those points, and after trading buckets a Mays score pushed the lead back out to 61-48. However, the Shockers connected on a three, sparking a 10-point run that included a trio of three-balls. This trimmed the margin to 61-58 with 3:02 on the clock. Mays hit a pair at the line before Wichita State put home a layup. A Wichita State turnover as the clock ticked under a minute to play led to a Marshall score to move the margin to 65-60. The Shockers were unable to convert in the final minute and had to start fouling, leading to Tulane icing the game at the charity stripe. Despite the late Shocker push, Tulane held firm to win 70-60.
The Green Wave returns home next week for its American Conference home opener against Tulsa on Tuesday, January 6. Tip-off in Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse is set for 6:30 p.m. with the contest streaming on ESPN+.
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.