A storm currently brews in Devlin Fieldhouse. If this momentum continues as each game passes, the Women’s Basketball team will have set a course straight for March Madness with a magnitude like never before.

The Green Wave has been challenged much more during this year’s preseason than in the 2014-15 preseason. Instead of playing schools like Nicholls State and Mississippi Valley State, which were seen as games played simply to boost the confidence of last year’s team, the 2015-16 team, ranked 59 on the Rating Percentage Index, has faced opponents such as Rutgers (51-75) who holds a rank of 15. Other teams Tulane faced include Green Bay (58-79), who ranks 11, and 68 ranked Virginia (67-62) for their quality of performance against the challengers in their schedule.

Last year, the Green Wave completed the season with positive stats in all arenas of competition. Whether the games were held at home (11-4) or away (8-4), the 2014-15 women’s basketball team ended the season with a winning record.

With this year’s stats and the Green Wave’s current location in their schedule, the team is currently undefeated at home and holds an overall record of 12-4.

Despite a challenging schedule, the team has become far better prepared for the difficult conference games to come. With this in mind, the Wave will continue to perform better than ever through the rest of the season and turn an overall winning season both at home and away.

Compared to the other Tulane coaching staffs, the women’s basketball team has had the longest standing head coach. Head coach Lisa Stockton’s reign has lasted for over 20 years. The team’s success this year can be attributed to her dedication and experience.

This season the Women’s Basketball team returned players who all participated in the majority of games throughout the season. Because of this team’s time spent together not only this year but also last year, this team has acquired a predictability betwixt themselves as they fight for each point and each win. They communicate so well on the court that their passes almost seem like second nature.

Tulane might experience some setbacks as it competes against fierce conference competitors like Connecticut who currently rests at the second spot in the RPI. Rather than let fear deter them, the team will use those experiences to consistently grow bigger and stronger as it heads not only into the middle of its season but also into March Madness contention.

Seeing as the 2014-15 women’s basketball season ended on a high note by competing in the NCAA tournament March Madness under the leadership of senior guard Jamie Kaplan, this year’s team will not only reach the tournament again but perform much better in this year’s coming tournament than they did in the past.

The results are in, and Tulane will continue to churn and flourish until it reaches the big dance.

Because of this year’s difficult offseason schedule, the 2015-16 women’s basketball team has become one of the best teams Tulane has ever seen and there is still a lot of basketball to be played.  

This is an opinion article and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Tulane Hullabaloo.