Tulane Women Run Away from North Florida on Education Day, 77-54

Led by a smothering defense, a head-turning presence on the glass, and a pace the opposition could not keep up with, the Tulane women's basketball team scored often on Education Day in Fogelman, as the Green Wave clobbered North Florida, 77-54.

Coach Ashley Langford was happy with her team's efforts, especially in front of the estimated 1,000 kids representing a half-dozen schools in the metro New Orleans area.

"I'm happy with today's performance and the outcome," Langford told us. "It's special to me to have young girls and boys in the stands. I told my team it's bigger than basketball today. Some of those young people have never been on a college campus before or seen a collegiate sporting event. So I really take pride in showing them a good time. Their energy was awesome."

In fact sometimes during sideline huddles, Tulane had a hard time hearing each other.

"It was hard. It was the band, They were awesome" Langford said, referring to the Warren Easton band that had set up behind the goal closest to the Osprey of North Florida. "It was the band and the children yelling."

"We knew it was going to loud, that it was Education Day," senior forward Dyllan Hanna said after the game. "In practice, we kind of emphasized echoing."

"We came really close (to each other in the huddles)," junior Kanija Daniel said. "Somebody would whisper it to somebody, and we would all echo (what was said)."

It was a career day for guard Daniel. The junior from Carrolton, GA, knocked down a career high 20-points against UNF. Second year senior Hanna also posted a career high, garnering 14-points, making she and Daniel the only Tulane players in double digit scoring for the game.

Hanna was part of an inside that controlled the scoreboard. The Wave had more than half their points in the game from the paint, 44 to be exact.

"That's always part of our game play," coach Langford said. "We want to play inside and out. We want the high percentage shots; that's typically in the paint. That's always beautiful basketball."

"I feel like it shows the connection that this team has," Hanna related to us. "Them relying on me to be in that spot and me relying on them to get me the pass. I think it shows how good of a team we are."

Everybody on the roster but one put points on the board. Langford is feeling good about this squad.

"It means their listening," Langford said. "We talk a lot about being selfless and sharing the basketball, because we are a team. We have a lot of different people who can step up and score. We have a lot of different weapons."

The effort, especially on the boards, means that Langford feels prepared for Monday's matchup against LSU in Fogelman. Tulane had an incredible 58-rebounds in this game against North Florida.

"I think our ability to rebound (helped us) control the game," Langford said. "I know our team. I know they are competitive and ready to take on an in-state rival school. I feel like we have a lot of depth, and we can attack people in different ways. We can create from the inside. We can create from the outside. Offensively, when we can get everybody playing to their max, we're going to be scary."

And that's without hitting from three-point land. The Wave only hit 5-of-25 from beyond the arc in this game, a 25% clip.

"Right now, we're beating teams, and we're not even making threes," said Langford.

Tulane welcomes state rival and 5th ranked LSU to Fogelman arena on Monday night. Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m.