Tulane women’s basketball continues shaky second half

Zachary Brandwein, Staff Reporter

After a disappointing last few games, the woes continue to pile up for the Green Wave women’s basketball team. Coming off a tough three point loss against the Cincinnati Bearcats, Tulane looked to right the ship against a Wichita State Shockers team who had lost three of their previous four games. 

After Tulane started out with a 5-2 lead four minutes into the first quarter, the game was all Wichita State. The Green Wave was never able to grab the lead back and lagged until the final whistle, with the score ending 69-61. At their worst, the Green Wave trailed the Shockers by 13, happening twice in the second quarter. 

Even though the Green Wave was never able to take the lead, they did not go down without a fight. Dynah Jones scored 23 points on 47.1% shooting, her highest scoring output since her season high 25 against LSU. Although Jones played a great game, she did not get much support from the rest of the team. Jones had more points herself than the next two highest scorers combined. The team’s field goal percentage was 37.7% and 30.4% from deep. 

After a tough loss to Wichita State, the Green Wave desperately needed a road victory against the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes. This victory would not come easy, as the Hurricane entered this game at 16-7, with a 6-4 conference record

Although both teams came in trying for a win, after the first half it seemed like Tulane was the only team that showed up. At its peak, the Tulane lead was 20 points, which occurred three times over the course of the game. Even after the third quarter, Tulane had a 15-point lead over the Hurricane. 

However, during the fourth quarter, the Green Wave offense vanished. The Wave were outscored 17-4, while shooting an abysmal 14.2% during the last 15 minutes. Although the Green Wave was absent in the fourth quarter, their early dominance allowed them to narrowly escape Oklahoma with a two point win, 69-67. 

Unlike the last game against Wichita State, the Green Wave had three players with double-digit points, with two of the three having double-doubles — Marta Galic with 17 points and 10 rebounds and Irina Parau with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Kierra Middleton was Tulane’s leading scorer with 18 points as well. 

The Green Wave women’s basketball team will look to have two consecutive wins for the first time since Jan. 21, when they take on SMU on February 15th. With four games remaining on the schedule, they are 14-11 overall with a 4-8 conference record. Tulane is currently eighth of 11 teams in the American Athletic Conference standings.

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