It has been a busy week for our Tulane University men’s and women’s basketball teams. Here is a quick recap for anyone who may have missed out on the excitement.
On Wednesday, Feb. 19, the men’s team defeated East Carolina University at home, winning 86-81. Kaleb Banks led the Green Wave with 25 points, seven rebounds and three blocks, while Rowan Brumbaugh maintained his consistency with 21 points, six rebounds and seven assists. Jordan Riley and RJ Felton put up great fights for ECU, together totaling 37 points. This was not enough to stave off Tulane, which maintained a lead for the duration of the game and improved its record to 15-11.
That same night, the women’s team headed out to the University of Tulsa, where it lost 73 to 54. Forward Sherese Pittman led the women’s Green Wave with 21 points — including four from beyond the arc — and four steals. Kyren Whittington, Kendall Sneed and Amira Mabry were other notable players of the game, despite the season-high 29 turnovers that led to the loss.
The women’s Wave came back on Saturday, Feb. 22, to defeat Wichita State University in the Avron B. Fogelman Arena in Devlin Fieldhouse, 68-64. Pittman once again led the team with 17 points, 16 rebounds and three steals, while Sneed had a massive impact with a team-high of six assists. Wichita State came back from a 36-25 first half deficit with the help of guard Princess Anderson, yet fell just four points short of winning the game. The Tulane women’s basketball record rose to 16-10, maintaining the team’s No. 5 ranking in the American Athletic Conference.
One day later, on Sunday, Feb. 23, Tulane men’s basketball made the trip to Kansas to face the Wichita State Shockers, resulting in a 78-67 loss. Key players for the Green Wave included Brumbaugh and Gregg Glenn III, with 18 points each, and Banks, with seven rebounds. The Shockers extended their winning streak to six games with this win, powered in a dominant second half by Xavier Bell and Corey Washington. With a record of 15-12, our Green Wave maintained its No. 4 AAC ranking.
On Tuesday, Feb. 25, the University of Texas at San Antonio headed down to New Orleans to take on Tulane’s women’s basketball team, who lost to the AAC-leading Roadrunners 77-73. The Green Wave fought hard, ending both the first half and the third quarter with the lead. Whittington led the team with 22 points, while Pittman had the high for rebounds at nine, accompanying her 13 points and five assists. On the other side, Jordyn Jenkins led UTSA, with 24 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. This was a tough loss for the last women’s home game of the season, and the teams headed to Alabama to face the University of Alabama at Birmingham Blazers on March 4.
Stay tuned for more updates as Tulane men’s basketball takes on University of North Carolina at Charlotte on Feb. 26 and UAB on March 9 to close the season.
