Tulane University
Boston College
Second Half Burst Lifts Tulane Past No. 19 Boston College
Dec 29, 2002 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 29, 2002
NEW ORLEANS, La. - -
Tulane 69, No. 19 Boston College 50 - Box Score
SMU 62, UNC Greensboro 49 - Box Score
The Tulane women's basketball team scored nearly as many points in the second half, 45, as Boston College scored in the game as the Green Wave used a strong second half to cruise to a 69-50 win over the Eagles at Fogelman Arena on Sunday.
Tulane won its fifth straight contest to improve to 8-2 overall, claiming its seventh straight DoubleTree Classic title in the process. Boston College dropped to 7-3 with the loss. The Eagles are ranked 19th in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll and 20th by the Associated Press.
Boston College led 29-24 at halftime and had pushed that lead to 33-26 barely one minute into the second half. However, Tulane used a 12-1 burst, started by back-to-back three-pointers from Kelly Nadeau and Muci Haris, to build a 38-34 lead and the Wave would never trail again. Boston College got to within two on three occasions, but with Tulane leading 40-38, the Wave used a 23-4 burst to push the lead to 21 with 3:46 left.
"I thought we broke it open when we started playing more inside-out," Tulane head coach Lisa Stockton said. "We got the ball into our posts and they were able to pass it out for the three and we hit two big ones in a row. After that, their defense couldn't really concentrate on Teana so much. They had to extend their defense and I thought that was a key to the game."
Delacey Joseph led Tulane with 16 points, five rebounds and two steals to earn a place on the DoubleTree Classic all-tournament team. Gwen Slaughter, the tournament MVP, added 14 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals for the Wave. Teana McKiver had 15 points, four rebounds, three assists and six blocks for Tulane, while Britt Themann added 13 points and four assists off the bench.
Brianne Stepherson had 17 points and five assists for Boston College, while Jessalyn Deveney had 12 points and four steals to each earn a spot on the all-tournament team.
Tulane shot 56.3 percent from the field in the second half (18-of-32), including a 5-of-7 showing from behind the three-point line. BC was just 20-of-56 from the floor (35.7 percent) and was just 1-of-6 from behind the three-point line for the game.
In the consolation game, SMU used a strong presence on the boards and five three-pointers from Andrea Cossey to post a 62-49 win over UNC Greensboro. The Mustangs led 41-26 at halftime. Cossey led all scorers with 15 points, while Nicole Murray had nine for UNCG. Both were named to the DoubleTree Classic all-tournament team.
Tulane will next travel to face No. 6 Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind., on Thursday, Jan. 2.
