Tulane University
Marquette (C-USA Tournament)
Women's Hoops Edges Out Marquette
Mar 3, 2001 | Women's Basketball
March 3, 2001
MILWAUKEE (AP) - Janell Burse took advantage of a brilliant defensive play by the opposition to score the game-winning basket.
After teammate Britt Themann had her shot blocked by Marquette's Kristin Seffern, Burse grabbed the ball and scored the winning field goal with 25 seconds to play as Tulane held off the Golden Eagles 59-58 Saturday in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA Tournament.
"It was a great defensive play," Tulane coach Lisa Stockton said. "I didn't even see her coming."
And then an even better play by Burse, who was trapped under the basket but found room to maneuver for her decisive shot.
"I just found a spot and went to it," Burse said.
The Green Wave (20-9) needed the late heroics from Burse after Marquette (13-16) rallied from 12 points down to go ahead 58-56 with 2:54 to play. But the Golden Eagles didn't score again as Tulane closed within one on a free throw by Burse with 1:08 left and then won it on her layup.
Marquette had two shots at victory, but Heidi Bowman's shot bounced off the rim and the putback attempt by Amy O'Grady also was off-target. The game ended with angry Marquette coach Terri Mitchell on the court asking why no foul was called.
"I'm not going to comment on the call by the officials," Mitchell said. "I just know we did everything we had to to win the game."
Stockton said, "I thought the intensity of both teams for 40 minutes was tremendous. We focused onour defense and that was key for us. We didn't fall apart."
Burse was the only player in double figures for Tulane, which plays Houston (19-11) in Sunday's semifinals at 5 p.m. CT. Houston beat Memphis 80-74 Saturday.
The Green Wave, shooting 56 percent (14-25), led by as many as 12 points before the Golden Eagles cut it to 40-33 at halftime. Burse scored 13 points in the first half to offset the production of Bowman, who also had 13 as Marquette worked hard to stay close.
Tulane, which beat Marquette 78-66 in Milwaukee in the regular season on the way to winning the National Division with a 12-4 record, led 49-37 early in the second half. It was 55-48 when a 10-1 run, started by a 3-pointer by Kristi Johnson, provided the 58-56 lead.
"Marquette did a great job in coming back," Stockton said, "A lot of teams really would fold in that situation, and our team really fought hard. It was a scramble pretty much the whole game."
Bowman led the Golden Eagles with 18 points. Kristin Seffern added 12 and Johnson 10.
"She was almost unstoppable tonight," Stockton said. 'I'm just glad we were able to stop here at the end."
