Women’s basketball ends win streak before AAC Championship

Jeremy Rosen, Staff Reporter

Tulane women’s basketball broke their nine-game win streak with a one point overtime loss to the Wichita State Shockers. New Orleans native Dynah Jones led Tulane’s offense with 24 points, along with four rebounds and three steals. Three other players scored double digits in this high-scoring conference matchup.

It was an extremely close contest the whole game, with four lead changes in the final minute of the game. Arsula Clark scored a basket to take an 83-82 lead with 32 seconds left in overtime. 

The Shockers retook the lead with two free throws with 15 seconds left, and the Green Wave was unable to score in the final possession. The difference maker was Wichita State’s shooting from beyond the arc, as they made eight 3’s compared to Tulane’s four.

Before this heartbreaker of a loss, the team was extraordinarily successful in conference play. Tulane put on a defensive clinic in a 56-80 stomping against the Cincinnati Bearcats. The Green Wave held their opponents to just 19 baskets the entire game, with an abysmal 29% shooting from the field. Moon Ursin stuffed the stat sheet with an 18-point and 10-rebound double-double, along with five assists.

Tulane achieved a strong 69-60 comeback-win against the University of Tulsa. Despite being down eight points after the first half, back to back 20 point quarters helped them rally against the Golden Hurricane. 

The team then survived a slugfest of a match against the Houston Cougars. The teams were evenly matched, both shooting 44% from the field, and the Green Wave recorded 36 rebounds to the Cougar’s 35. All five of Tulane’s starters scored double digit points to push the team over the top in this all-around team win.

Career performances from Jones and Krystal Freeman pushed the team to a 67-58 victory over the SMU Mustangs. Jones scored a career high 25 points, while Freeman did the dirty work by grabbing 15 rebounds and recording a handful of steals and blocks.

An elite defensive performance against Temple University extended Tulane’s win streak to nine games, their longest win streak since the 2010-2011 season. Relentless perimeter defense held the Owls to 2-for-21 shooting from behind the arc, while also forcing an impressive 14 turnovers.

Tulane’s 11-5 conference record earned them third place in the American Athletic Conference standings entering the conference championship, placing them only behind the Universities of Central Florida and South Florida. This week the team will travel to Fort Worth, Texas to compete in the AAC championship. As the third seed, Tulane will have a bye in the first round, and will compete on Tuesday against the winner of the No. 11 University of Cincinnati vs. No. 6 Houston match in the quarterfinals.

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