Tulane University
Southern Miss*
Women's Hoops Posts 65-51 Win Over Southern Miss
Feb 27, 2004 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 27, 2004
NEW ORLEANS, La. - -
Tulane 65, Southern Miss 51 - Final Box Score
Tulane only had four players score, but it was more than enough, as the Green Wave women's basketball posted a 65-51 win over Conference USA rival Southern Miss at Fogelman Arena on Friday.
Tulane improves to 10-17 overall with the win and is 3-11 in Conference USA play. Southern Miss falls to 14-13 overall, 2-12 in league action. With the win, coupled with Saint Louis' loss at Memphis, Tulane earned the 12th and final spot in the Conference USA Tournament.
"It is always nice to get a win on Senior Day, but it is especially nice that the win put us in the Conference USA Tournament," Tulane head coach Lisa Stockton said. "I thought our two seniors, Kelly Nadeau and Tiffany Wilson, really played well tonight. You could tell that they did not want to lose this game."
Tulane built a 19-point lead midway through the second half only to see Southern Miss come charging back. With Tulane leading 44-25 at the 12:55 mark, Southern Miss scored nine straight points to cut the lead to 10 with 8:47 left in the second half. Lakethia Hampton added two free throws to push the lead back to 12, and the teams traded points, giving Tulane a 53-41 lead at the 6:14 mark. USM's Tierra Lassiter hit back-to-back three-pointers to trim the Green Wave lead to just six, 53-47 with 5:26 left, but that would be the Golden Eagles' final field goal of the game. Kelly Nadeau answered with a pair of free throws, then hit a long three-pointer of her own from the left wing before a jumper from Hampton and a free throw Wilson gave Tulane a 14-point lead and effectively sealed the win for the Wave.
Hampton led all scorers with 20 points and 15 rebounds, posting her second straight double-double and her ninth of the year. Nadeau added 19 points, five assists and four rebounds, while D'Aundra Henry had 15 points, five assists, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Wilson was the only other Tulane player to score, but she also added double figures, chipping in 11 points and six rebounds.
Tulane held Southern Miss' leading scorer, Deonda Carter, to just eight points, five shy of her 13.1 points per game average heading into the game. The Wave also negated Southern Miss' size advantage, posting a 42-28 edge in rebounding, including a 15-7 edge in offensive rebounds. Hampton alone had eight offensive boards for the Wave, one more than Southern Miss' total.
In a near reversal of the teams' first meeting this season, Tulane held Southern Miss to just 16 points at halftime, taking a 28-16 lead into the break. The Golden Eagles had posted a 32-16 lead in the first half in the January 10 match-up in Hattiesburg. Southern Miss took a 6-5 lead at the 17:03 mark of the first half, but Henry answered with a jumper and then Nadeau fed Hampton for a lay-up and the Wave wouldn't trail again.
Tulane must now wait until Sunday's final Conference USA games to learn its first-round opponent at the Conference USA Tournament. The Wave will face either Memphis or Marquette in the first round on Thursday, March 4.
