Tulane Women's Comeback Falls Just Short Against Boise State
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Down by as many as 19 points in the third quarter, the Tulane University women’s basketball team remained resilient against Boise State to push the Broncos to the limit in the championship of the Paradise Jam Harbor Division. Tulane pulled within three points with 49 seconds remaining, but the Wave could not complete the comeback, falling 81-76 at the Elridge Wilburn Blake Sports and Fitness Center Friday evening. Tulane moves to 3-4 and finishes as the Harbor Division runner-up while Boise State improves to 7-1 and claims the division title.
The Broncos shot better overall with a 40.6 percent mark and 33.3 percent clip from three. Tulane converted at a 35.1 percent rate from the floor and shot 31.3 percent beyond the arc. The Wave won the boards 47-40 and held a 21-12 offensive rebounding advantage.
Tulane Trio Hit for Double Digits
Three players scored in double figures for the Wave with a pair netting 20-plus. Mecailin Marshall led the way with a career-best 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including 6-of-10 from three. She added six rebounds and is the first Tulane player to swish six threes since Victoria Keenan last season at Charlotte (Jan. 4, 2025). Kanija Daniel scored 20 with four boards and two assists. Amira Mabry posted 11 points with seven rebounds. Dyllan Hanna led on the glass with eight rebounds and nine points, falling just short of a double-double. Kendall Sneed dished nine assists to pace the team, adding eight points to also just miss a double-double. Tulane’s two blocks belonged to Hanna and Daniel with one apiece. Jordyn Weaver’s two steals topped the team.
Boise State opened the scoring with a three, but Kanija Daniel responded with a three of her own. After another three for the Broncos, Tulane pushed back and pulled in front 9-6. A Mecailin Marshall triple extended the lead to 14-9, but the Broncos bounced back and reclaimed the lead. The lead traded hands a couple more times, and Boise State held a 19-16 advantage after a quarter with a late layup.
The Broncos opened the second frame on a run to stretch their lead to 26-16. Kendall Sneed broke the spell with a layup, but Boise State immediately responded with one of its own. The Broncos remained comfortable and led by as much as 16 points, 36-20, but a Marshall trey closed the half and cut the deficit to 36-23 at the break.
A three-point play for Boise State started off the scoring in the third quarter, but Daniel went inside for a lay-in to get Tulane going. The teams traded blows, but back-to-back threes for Boise State pushed its lead to 47-29. Marshall connected on a three to provide a response for Tulane, and Daniel hit her own trey to nix a Bronco layup. Marshall again connected from deep, drawing a foul to notch a four-point play. Boise State found a rhythm late in the quarter, however, using another three-pointer to stretch the margin out to a high of 19 points, 63-44, with 48 seconds to go. Though Marshall scored inside, free throws closed the frame for Boise State, who led 65-46 entering the final frame.
Dyllan Hanna secured a three-point play to begin the fourth, igniting the Green Wave’s hope for a comeback. Tulane began to chip away as a three from Amira Mabry cut the deficit to 70-56 at the 5:11 mark. Mabry continued to head the comeback push when she was fouled on a steal and hit both free shots. Jordyn Weaver then scored and brought Tulane back within 10 points, 70-60, at the 4:17 mark. After trading some scores, the Broncos led 77-65 with 2:21 remaining. The Wave refused to quit, however, as Sneed hit a jumper and Marshall again popped from beyond the arc. The freshman put home another three-ball with 59 seconds to go, bringing Tulane with 77-73. With time running thin, the charity stripe began to make an impact as Boise State put home both shots following a foul. Daniel, however, hit another trey for the Wave, bringing the score to 79-76 with 49 seconds remaining. Weaver applied pressure and swiped the ball to provide Tulane a chance to level the ballgame. The ensuing layup missed, though, and the Broncos converted once at the line. In the closing 30 seconds, the Wave had three chances from deep, but none were able to connect as Boise State held on for the 81-76 win.
Tulane will return to New Orleans after closing out the Paradise Jam as the runner-up. The Wave will take on Missouri State on Friday, December 4, at 6:30 p.m. at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse. The contest will stream on ESPN+ and can be heard on WRBH 88.3 FM.
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.