Postseason Central
Tulane freshman guard Kolby Morgan scored a game-high 17 points but it was not enough as the Green Wave fell to No. 12/14 Mississippi State, 57-47, in the first round of the NCAA Championship at Cameron Indoor Stadium on the campus of Duke University.
Senior Jamie Kaplan added nine points, a game-high five assists and a game-best four steals in the season-ending loss.
In its 11th NCAA Tournament appearance, Tulane (22-11) trailed Mississippi State (27-6) by five points at halftime, but opened the second half with seven straight points, capped by a Tiffany Dale layup to take the lead. However, the Lady Bulldogs took advantage of a Tulane shooting slump that stretched almost 10 minutes and countered with a game-changing 20-2 run to take control of the game.
The Green Wave ended the drought and snapped the run on a lay-up by Morgan with 5:46 remaining to pull to within 16 points, 49-33. Tulane cut the lead to nine points on a pair of Morgan free throws with 1:19 remaining but could not get any closer.
Mississippi State had a pair of players finish in doubles figures, including Breanna Richardson with 15 points and 12 rebounds, and Morgan William with 14 points. The Lady Bulldogs scored 30 of their 57 points in the paint and held a 43-34 advantage in rebounding.
The Tulane defense held the Lady Bulldogs to a 35.7 percent (20-56) shooting effort, including 18.2 percent (2-11) from beyond the arc. The Green Wave got to the line 25 times and connected on 16 free-throws for a .640 percentage, but was plagued by 20 turnovers, which led to 19 Mississippi State points.