Tulane Women Open Paradise Jam with Gritty Victory Over Elon
In this story:
Behind a massive 29-point third quarter and stout defense down the stretch, the Tulane University women’s basketball team outlasted Elon for a 64-61 win Thursday afternoon. The contest was the opening game of the 2025 Paradise Jam held at the Elridge Wilburn Blake Sports and Fitness Center on the campus of the University of the Virgin Islands. The Green Wave moves to 3-3 on the campaign as the Phoenix falls to 2-4.
Tulane shot better overall in the contest with a 42.1 percent mark to the 34.9 percent clip of Elon. The Phoenix was better from three however, hitting at a 35.5 percent rate to the 10.5 percent clip of the Wave. Tulane held a slight edge on the boards, 38-37, and won the battle inside with 38 paint points compared to the 15 of the Phoenix. The Wave held a slight advantage in the turnover battle, forcing 18 and committing 17, and Tulane was better at converting off those miscues with 26 points off turnovers to Elon’s 15. Further contributing to the Wave’s stout defensive efforts, Tulane swatted five blocks and allowed just one.
Mecailin Marshall paced the team as one of three in double figures with 17 points. Kanija Daniel and Kendall Sneed both added 10 points. Dyllan Hanna and Sadie Shores each collected eight boards to tie for the team lead with Shores’s total tying her career best. With six rebounds, Marshall collected a new career high. Assists were balanced as Sneed and Daniel each dished three to tie for the team lead. Daniel also topped the squad with three steals, and Hanna and Sneed each tallied two blocks.
Tulane opened the scoring with a Dyllan Hanna layup before an Elon score immediately leveled the contest. A response sparked an 11-point run for the Wave, which saw a 13-2 Tulane lead after a Mecailin Marshall three-pointer. The Phoenix pushed back to pull within 13-11, but a Hanna score created some breathing room. However, Elon kept pushing and used a pair of threes to pull in front late, 18-17, but a Sadie Shores bucket in the closing seconds of the quarter provided a 19-18 edge for the Wave.
Elon remained hot from distance with a three to open the second, sparking an eight-point run for a 26-19 lead. Marshall broke the run with back-to-back scores. A total of eight-straight Tulane points provided a 27-26 edge for the Wave, with Jordyn Weaver’s score flipping the lead. Elon, however, went on a run to close the half and led 35-27 at the break.
Needing a spark to begin the second half, CC Mays stepped up for Tulane with a steal six seconds into the third quarter. This takeaway quickly led to a Kanija Daniel layup. The teams traded blows, but Tulane was chipping away and pulled within 40-36 after a three from Amira Mabry. A nine-point swing leveled the score for Tulane at 40-all. After Elon retook the lead, the Wave tied it up once more before Marshall’s bucket pushed Tulane in front. That basket kicked off a 14-point swing for Tulane that resulted in a 54-42 lead. Though an Elon score broke the run, Mays capped the quarter with a layup for a 56-44 lead with 10 minutes to go. In all, Tulane won the third frame 29-8 to mark the first time the Wave won a quarter by 20-plus points since December 28, 2022, a 27-7 third-quarter margin against Tougaloo. The 29 points in the third are the most in a single quarter for Tulane this season.
After trading a pair of scores to open the fourth, Elon built a seven-point run to pull within a point, 58-57, at the 5:20 mark. The defenses for both teams clamped down as the game went scoreless for the next minute and 50 seconds. A Phoenix free throw at the 3:30 mark tied the game at 58. Mays pushed Tulane back in front before the pendulum swung in Elon’s favor with a three as the Phoenix claimed a lead, 61-60, with 2:03 on the clock. Kendall Sneed scored with 1:44 to flip Tulane back in front, and Marshall added a layup at the 1:11 mark for a 64-61 advantage. Elon had its chances to potentially tie the game, putting up four threes in the final minute of the contest with none able to connect. A clutch block by Sneed on the final attempt helped seal the Thanksgiving victory, 64-61 for Tulane.
The Wave advances in the Harbor Division of the Paradise Jam to the bracket’s championship game Friday afternoon. With Boise State defeating North Dakota in the second game of the day, Tulane will square off against the Broncos at 2:00 p.m. CT (4:00 p.m. AST) Friday for the Harbor Division crown.
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.