Women’s Basketball’s Comeback Falls Short at Middle Tennessee, 62-59

Saturday, December 3

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

3 p.m. CT

Tulane University

5-2

Middle Tennessee

2-3

Tulane

Middle Tennessee

Women’s Basketball’s Comeback Falls Short at Middle Tennessee, 62-59

Dec 3, 2016 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Green Wave trailed by as much as 14 points in second half and had chance to go ahead in final minutes

PRINTABLE STAT BOOK

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Trailing by as much as 14 points in the second half, the (-/RV) Tulane women's basketball team (5-2) battled back and had a chance to tie the game down three with 11 seconds left, but couldn't connect, as Middle Tennessee (2-3) escaped with the 62-59 victory. Senior Leslie Vorpahl led the Green Wave with 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting, including a 4-for-7 mark from three-point range, while sophomore Meredith Schulte recorded her third straight game in double-figures with 13 points.

"The first half did us in," Tulane head coach Lisa Stockton said. "I thought we really fought in the second half. We shot better and took care of the ball. Obviously, they are a good rebounding team so that hurt us, but having starters on the bench with fouls and being down by 11 at half, we just had to battle from behind the whole game."

Tulane went ahead 5-0 in the first 90 seconds but Middle Tennessee connected on their first four three-pointers of the game to jump out to a 15-5 lead. A Vorpahl trey at the 1:44 mark ended over a six-minute drought, as the Wave ended the first period down 17-8.

The Olive and Blue retaliated by knocking down four of their first six shots to start the second quarter, battling back to take a 19-18 lead after another Vorpahl three-pointer at the 5:53 mark. Yet, Tulane committed five turnovers in the last five minutes and were ultimately outrebounded 18-5 in the half, allowing Middle Tennessee to produce a 16-5 run and a 34-23 halftime lead.

Later, down 54-41 in the fourth quarter, Tulane began to chip away, starting with a Schulte three-pointer at the 8:53 mark. The Wave then got into the bonus at 7:14, which instantly led to a four-point play via a Harlyn Wyatt free-throw followed by a Kayla Manuirirangi three-pointer. Then, with 5:12 remaining, Tene Thompson hit a trey to cut it to 56-53.

At 1:38, a Vorpahl lay-up made it a one-point ballgame at 60-59, but Middle Tennessee converted two free-throws to extend the lead back to three at 62-59 with 50 seconds to go. The Wave attempted three treys down the final stretch but couldn't get any to fall, including one final attempt at the buzzer. Tulane, who entered the contest with a .757 free-throw percentage, also had some missed opportunities from the free-throw line, going 9-for-18 this afternoon.

Up next, the Green Wave will look to bounce back when they make the short bus ride over to Nashville for a Monday showdown with SEC foe Vanderbilt at 7 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.