The Wave took the court pretty in pink last Thursday for Kay Yow Breast Cancer Awareness, but the ensuing game was ugly.

A whopping 30 Tulane turnovers led to a Tulsa track meet of fast breaks and scoring runs. The Green Wave fought back in the second half, only to lose 72-59.

“I felt like it was a total team breakdown,” head coach Lisa Stockton said. “I thought Tulsa did a great job of staying with their game plan, and I thought we did a bad job of staying intense.”

At first, the fast-paced match encompassed turnover after turnover on both sides, including three consecutive violations by the Golden Hurricane. The squads matched basket for basket well into the half until Tulsa slowly pulled away, converting Tulane’s 19 turnovers into 14 points to make a 7-0 run in the last two minutes of the first period.

While Tulane forced 10 turnovers in response, the Wave converted them into only four points and consequently received fewer points than turnovers, ending the half behind 30-18.

“I was really angry,” Stockton said. “I felt like we just came out there and didn’t value the ball. People didn’t want to step up and take responsibility.”

The Wave came into the second half with an energetic spark to cut the deficit to four with a 14-5 run and make the score 41-37. The squad shot 51.1 percent from the field, a factor that helped the Green Wave come back to beat Tulsa 66-51 in its first match-up.

“The last time we played them, we were behind,” Stockton said. “We came back and got back in it by just playing really good basketball. We shot well against them, just like we did tonight.”

But the Golden Hurricane answered with five consecutive 3-pointers and several fast break conversions to douse the Wave’s chances at victory. Four Tulsa players scored double digits, establishing a 15-point gap that eventually expanded to a 72-59 finish.

“We stopped the turnovers, cut [the deficit] to four and then [Tulsa] came [back] again,” Stockton said. “That took the last bit of air we had.”

The Wave traveled to Dallas Sunday afternoon and lost 54-49 to Southern Methodist University to drop Tulane’s record to 19-9 (8-7). Though the Green Wave led the entire first half, the squad could not hold on in the end.

“I thought we did some good things defensively, and we just struggled to score,” Stockton said. “Going in at halftime, we had a three-point lead, and we were shooting 20 percent. In the second half, we just had so many droughts and couldn’t score. That became the story of the game.”

The Green Wave, however, ended its home schedule on a high note Thursday, defeating the Houston Cougars 71-43, on a night when Tulane honored senior center Brett Benzio as she scored her 1000th point and grabbed her 1000th rebound.

Stockton said Tulane is in good standing entering the tournament.

“Luckily, we took care of business early in the season, and we’re still in a good position,” Stockton said. “Our concern as a staff is just trying to find our identity again and make sure that we can have some confidence in our game both offensively and defensively.”