Tulane Women Skid Hits Six in 56-47 Loss at North Texas
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Tulane and North Texas were locked in a defensive slugfest Saturday afternoon in the Super Pit with the Mean Green holding on late for a 56-47 win. The result drops the Green Wave to 8-16 (3-9 American) as North Texas improves to 14-11 (8-5 American).
Defensive Play on Both Ends
Both teams shot 33 percent from the floor today with North Texas hitting a trio more three-pointers, 6-3. The Mean Green won the glass, 45-28, with a 16-5 offensive rebounding advantage. This contributed to seven more second chance points (9-2) for North Texas. Tulane forced 20 turnovers while committing 16, but the Mean Green capitalized more for a 22-17 points off turnovers edge. Ten of Tulane’s giveaways came in the second half. The Wave won the blocking battle, 5-2.
Tulane had two players in double figures with Kanija Daniel’s 11 points leading the way. She added four boards, a team-high three steals, and a block. Amira Mabry collected 10 points with a block and a steal to join Daniel in double-digits. Dyllan Hanna led on the glass with five rebounds, and her two blocks topped the squad. A trio of players dished two assists each to tie for the team lead: CC Mays, Jayda Brown, and Mecailin Marshall.
Close Game Through One
The Wave started the game off on a roll, as Dyllan Hanna’s layup kicked things off. Tulane owned the opening five points as Kendall Sneed added a free throw, and Amira Mabry put home a layup. After a North Texas timeout, the Mean Green responded with the next eight points to take the lead. However, Jayda Brown delivered a three to retie the game. The teams continued to trade buckets until a pair of Mecailin Marshall foul shots pushed Tulane back in front at 14-12 with 56 seconds to go. A Mean Green score in the final 30 seconds leveled the contest once more, however, and the score was tied at 14-14 after the first 10 minutes.
Mean Green Take the Lead
Tulane opened the second with a Kanija Daniel put-back, but back-to-back baskets for North Texas flipped the scoreboard once more. Daniel scored to tie the game, but another Mean Green bucket reclaimed their lead. Defenses for both teams clamped down as the game saw about two minutes of scoreless play until a Daniel free throw broke the spell. North Texas used a late three to spark a 7-2 run over the final 2:33 of the half, creating a 27-21 margin at the break.
Wave Takes the 3rd Quarter Lead
A minute into the second half, Sneed put home a trey to pull Tulane within three. Two free throws then gave way to a Mabry jumper for the lead, 28-27. The teams began to play tug-of-war with the lead as UNT scored to reclaim it before Daniel did the same thing. Another Mean Green bucket was parried by a Brown score, and she added a second-straight score to break the see-saw run. However, a Mean Green three tied the game at 34-all before Mabry pushed Tulane back in front with 3:01 on the clock. That would be the last score for either side in the third quarter as both defenses stood firm from there, and Tulane entered the final stanza ahead 36-34.
Tight Play Continues in the 4th
North Texas tied the game once again to begin the fourth quarter, but Mabry responded to retake the advantage for the Wave. The lead flipped yet another time after a North Texas three, and a Mean Green steal led to a layup. Another score marked a seven-point run for North Texas, who extended the lead to 43-38. Pushing back, Brown converted twice at the stripe before Marshall swished a key corner three, evening the game again at 43-all. North Texas scored the next five points, though, and the defenses for both teams remained stingy as Sneed’s layup brought Tulane back within 48-45, but not until 1:40 remained on the clock. With time running thin, free throw shooting became paramount, and the Mean Green converted enough at the line to hold out and ice the game late for a 56-47 result.
Green Wave Stay on the Road
Tulane remains on the road with a clash at Memphis on Tuesday, February 17. The game is a rescheduled contest from January 27, which was postponed due to inclement weather. Tip-off against the Tigers is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. This is the first of back-to-back games between the squads as two days later the programs will rematch in New Orleans at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse. Tip-off on Thursday is set for 6:30 p.m. Both games will stream on ESPN+ and can be heard on WRBH 88.3 FM
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.