Tulane Women Open American Tournament Play with a Rematch Today
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Tulane’s quest for a conference title begins tomorrow afternoon at Legacy Arena at the BJCC with the opening round of the American Conference Championship. The Green Wave enters as the No. 10 seed and will open against No. 7 Temple at 2:00 p.m. The contest will stream on ESPN+ and can be heard on WRBH 88.3 FM and through the Varsity Network App.
Rematch Time for the Two TUs
Tulane and Temple will be squaring off for the 23rd time with the Owls holding a 12-10 lead in the series. The programs have met twice already this season with the road team claiming the win each time. The Wave won first, 71-58 in Philadelphia on January 13, but the Owls won in New Orleans on January 31, 67-65 in overtime. This is just the third time the foes have matched up in the conference tournament with the first two meetings split. Tulane won 83-73 in the 2021 quarterfinals, but Temple won 76-72 in overtime during the 2024 quarterfinals.
Scouting the Owls
The Owls are 14-16 on the season and posted an 8-10 conference record. Temple won its final regular season game 84-56 at home over Florida Atlantic. Temple touts a scoring offense of 67.7 while shooting 39.7 percent from the floor and 32.4 percent from three. The Owls average 38.6 rebounds, 13.3 assists, and 8.8 steals. Kaylah Turner is the team’s leading scorer at 16.1 points per game. Saniyah Craig leads on the glass with 7.8 rebounds per game, and Tristen Taylor touts an assists average of 4.1 to top the squad.
Tulane is 11-19 on the campaign and finished with a 6-12 American record. The Wave lost its last contest on Saturday 58-49 to South Florida. Tulane posts a scoring offense of 64.6 with a 39.6 field goal percentage. The Wave ranks fifth in the conference with 38.7 rebounds per game. With an assists average of 14.0, Tulane is fifth in the league. Tulane touts a blocking overage of 3.7, fourth best in the conference. Kanija Daniel is the team’s leading scorer at 11.5 points per game, and Dyllan Hanna’s 7.0 rebounds per game top the squad and rank 10th in the conference. Kendall Sneed leads the way with 4.0 assists per game, seventh in the league. Hanna and Daniel are both top six in the conference for blocking, the only teammates in the league to rank in the top six. Hanna is third in the conference at 1.4 per game, and Daniel is tied for sixth at 1.0.
We spoke with coach Ashley Langford and senior forward Amira Mabry before they left for Birmingham. Here is that interview, as posted on our YouTube Channel.
Wave Have Done Well in 1st Round American Games
Since joining the American in the 2014-15 season, Tulane is 10-11 all-time in the American Conference Championship. The Wave split two games last season in the tournament and enters this season as the No. 10 seed for the first time ever. Tulane is 5-1 all-time in the first round of the tournament and has won its first game of the tournament in five-straight seasons.
Marshall and Daniel Honored by the American
The American Conference year-end awards were announced this morning with two Wave players recognized. Mecailin Marshall was named the league’s freshman of the year. Tulane boasts each of the last two winners of the award with Kendall Sneed claiming it last season, making the Wave the first team in conference history to secure back-to-back freshman of the year honors. The American All-Newcomer Team features a pair of Tulane players as Marshall earned a nod alongside Kanija Daniel.
On Saturday against South Florida, CC Mays reached 1,000 points for her career. She is the third Tulane player to reach the threshold this season, joining Jordyn Weaver and Amira Mabry. Mabry currently boasts 1,070 career points to rank 24th on Tulane’s all-time scoring list.
What Happens if the Wave Win
The tournament features a new stepladder format this season, making Tulane’s path to the championship round clear. If Tulane wins over Temple, the Wave will advance to the second round for a match-up against No. 6 UTSA. That game is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
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.