Sunday, February 20
Tulane 76, Houston 72
A 12-point performance by redshirt senior Arsula Clark and an 11-rebound performance by redshirt senior Moon Ursin in the second half helped the Tulane women's basketball team (18-7, 9-4) battle past Houston (12-13, 5-8) 76-72 in Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse Sunday night. The Green Wave went to work in the paint with 20 points around the rim to spur a 28-point third quarter to take its first lead before outlasting the Cougars in the final frame.
With the win, Tulane grabbed its seventh-straight victory and its sixth consecutive win against an American Athletic Conference opponent. The Wave has also won 10 of its last 11 games.
All five starters finished in double figures for the Green Wave as Clark and Dynah Jones led with 15 points each. Clark also pulled down six rebounds and dished out six assists as well, while Jones shot connected at a 50 percent clip from the field. Ursin totaled 13 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to record her 10th double-double of the season. Mia Heide and Krystal Freeman rounded out the top scorers for Tulane with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Tulane and Houston were evenly matched both shooting 44 percent from the field. The Wave won the rebounding battle once again outrebounding the Cougars 36-35.
The two teams were neck and neck through the first five minutes of the opening quarter, tying it up three times before Houston began to pull away. The Cougars closed the quarter with a seven-point run as the Green Wave faced a 21-15 deficit at the end of the frame.
Tulane began chipping away at the deficit scoring the first four points of the second. Houston responded to push its lead back to seven, but the Wave came storming back with an 11-4 run capped by back-to-back three-pointers by Jones and Freeman to tie the score at 30. The final bucket of the first half fell the way of the Cougars with 14 seconds left as Tulane hit the locker room trailing 32-30.
The Wave returned from the locker room on a mission beginning the second half with 11 unanswered points to take a 41-32 lead. Tulane began finding a rhythm inside and out shooting 42.9 percent from the field and pouring in 20 points in the paint in the third quarter. The advantage for the Green Wave would stretch to as many as 15 points on a steal and fast break layup by Sierra Cheatham with 2:54 on the clock. Tulane finished the frame with 28 points to hit the final quarter a 58-49 advantage.
Houston clawed back into the game tying the score at 60-60 with 6:43 remaining in the fourth quarter. Tulane pushed back in front with an 11-5 run. The Cougars pulled within three points with 31 seconds left, but the Green Wave closed the door from the charity stripe to hold on for the 76-72 victory.