For the second straight year, Tulane's (18-15) season ended in the third round of the WNIT, falling 72-64 to Alabama (22-13) Thursday night at Coleman Coliseum.
Kolby Morgan led the Green Wave with 26 points on 8-of-16 shooting, including a 4-for-7 effort from 3-point range.
The Crimson Tide got off to a hot shooting start, jumping out to a 13-3 lead. Tulane fought back with a 6-0 run but Alabama's Hannah Cook tallied 10 first quarter points, leading the home team to a 23-13 lead as the Tide knocked down 9-of-16 (.563) in the period.
The Green Wave defense slowed Alabama's pace in the second, holding them to without a field goal in the last 4:25 of the quarter, but the Crimson Tide maintained its distance from the free-throw line. Ultimately, Meredith Schulte and Leslie Vorpahl combined for the last nine points of the period, cutting Alabama's lead to single digits at the half, down 33-24.
A Kisenija Madzarevic lay-up one-minute into the third cut it to 33-27, but Alabama's Quanetria Bolton knocked down back-to-back three's to extend the lead to 12 points. Then from 6:12 to 4:51, Morgan connected on three consecutive three's, yet Alabama's offense kept pace, boasting a 48-38 lead. Tulane then hit a short scoring drought that was ended by Vorpahl with seconds on the clock as the Wave went into the fourth down 52-40.
Alabama started the fourth on a 5-0 run, building its largest lead of the game, up 57-40. Next, Tulane continued to fight, later recording an 11-2 run to cut it to 61-55 with 3:45 remaining. Yet, Alabama preserved its lead from the free-throw line, scoring seven of its last 11 points from the charity stripe where they finished 18-of-30.
Vorpahl finished with 10 points and four assists tonight, bringing her final season assist total to 201, which ranks third all-time in program history. Meanwhile, Morgan finished with 632 points on the year, which ranked third all-time as well.