In a grueling fight to the end, Tulane women’s basketball (12-5, 3-2 American Athletic Conference) fell to No. 19/16 University of South Florida (11-4, 4-1 AAC) 71-67 Wednesday night in Devlin Fieldhouse.

After holding the lead for the entirety of the first half, Tulane allowed the Bulls to pull ahead with a hot streak right after intermission. Three quick 3-pointers let USF pull away by nine but Tulane found its stride again in the final minutes of the 3rd. The Wave went into the final period leading 50-47.

Junior guard Leslie Vorpahl posted her career best with 26 points on the night, but the Wave struggled to contain USF’s Courtney Williams, who had 31 points herself.

The Bulls held a five point lead with 24 seconds left on the clock, but after a pair of free-throws from sophomore guard Kolby Morgan, junior guard Courtnie Latham got the steal the Wave needed that allowed for Vorpahl’s 6th three of the night. As she drained it to tie the score with 16 seconds on the clock, the Fieldhouse went wild and the win seemed almost within reach; however, the moment was fleeting. USF pulled ahead with a quick jumper and pair of free throws to secure its win.

“I’m really proud of how this team fought and battled, and went down and tied the game,” head coach Lisa Stockton said. “Only disappointed because it’s a missed opportunity for us. I think we really gave a great effort. One of the things I told the team in the locker room is that we got to know that we can play with anybody, and we got to try to bring that every game.”

Tulane heads to Tulsa Saturday to take on the Golden Hurricane (6-11, 3-3 AAC) at 1 p.m. in the Reynolds Center.