Women’s basketball stopped short by Alabama in WNIT

Jude Papillion, Sports Editor

Tulane women’s basketball concluded their 2021-22 campaign on Monday night with an 81-77 loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Green Wave fell in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament Round of 32 after defeating Jacksonville State University last Thursday to advance.

The contest at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in Devlin Fieldhouse marked the final game for Tulane’s fifth-year seniors – Arsula Clark, Kaila Anderson, Moon Ursin, Sierra Cheatham and Krystal Freeman.

Ursin, the former Baylor Bear who decided to spend her final season in the Crescent City, led the Green Wave in scoring with 26 and in rebounds with nine. Ursin was just one rebound shy of collecting her 12th double-double of the season

Freeman also posted double digits with 14 points, while Clark led the team in assists with nine. 

Alabama and Tulane swapped the lead 20 times in the contest, and both teams shot well to provide an exciting postseason atmosphere for fans. As a team, the Green Wave shot 42.6% overall, 43.5% from the 3-point line and 83.3% from the stripe. It was not enough to match the Crimson Tide, who finished shooting 50% on field goals, 47.4% from beyond the arc and 88.9% from the free-throw line. 

Two Alabama players posted over 20 points, with Brittany Davis scoring 22 while JaMya Mingo-Young dropped 21. Davis collected 10 rebounds to finish the game with a double-double, and Megan Abrams was not far behind the Crimson Tide’s top scorers with 19 points of her own.

Tulane finished the season with 21 wins and 10 losses, the most wins the team has had in a season since 2015-16. The Green Wave finished fourth overall in the American Athletic Conference regular season standings and previously dropped out of the conference tournament in the quarterfinals against the Houston Cougars.

The loss marks the culmination of Head Coach Lisa Stockton’s 28th season at Tulane. The Green Wave’s second consecutive WNIT appearance marked the team’s 20th postseason berth under Stockton.

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