Tulane's Montagnino Named to C-USA All-Tournament Team
Mar 6, 2006 | Women's Basketball
March 6, 2006
NEW ORLEANS - Tulane junior Jami Montagnino earned a spot on the Conference USA Women's Basketball All-Tournament Team Sunday after scoring a career-high 35 points in the Green Wave's triple overtime loss to SMU in the tournament quarterfinals last Friday night.
Montagnino became the first Tulane player named to the Conference USA All-Tournament team since 2002 and her selection marked the 10th time a Green Wave player was named to the squad.
Her 35 points came on nine-of-25 shooting from the field as her young teammates looked to the lone upperclassman on the Tulane team to carry the squad during the overtime sessions. She hit five-of-12 shots from three-point range, including back-to-back threes in the last 31 seconds of the second overtime to bring Tulane back from a five-point deficit and send the game to a third extra period. By making all 12 of her free throw attempts in the game, she tied a Conference USA Tournament record.
Montagnino's 35-point effort was the most scored by a Tulane player since Jan. 14, 2001 and ranks tied for 10th on the school's single-game scoring chart. Her 12 free throws made ties for the seventh-highest single game total all-time. Montagnino also contributed five rebounds and two assists before fouling out at the 2:09 mark of the third overtime.
Tulane went on to lose the game, 86-84, in three OTs while playing without Montagnino or leading scorer Jennifer Sands, who fouled out with four minutes left in regulation. As the game ended, Tulane had a pair of sophomores and three freshmen on the floor.
Montagnino's 35-point output came just one night after one of her least productive games of the season as she played a season-low 16 minutes and scored just two points in Tulane's first round victory over UCF after picking up two early fouls and remaining in foul trouble most of the game.
She finished the season averaging 12.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game while setting a new Tulane single season record for free throw percentage after making 80-of-89 during the year for an 89.9 percentage. She was second on the Tulane team in three pointers made (40), minutes played per game (34.5) and assists (78).
Tulane is 15-12 on the season and lost a pair of games off their schedule due to Hurricane Katrina. The Green Wave awaits word of a potential berth in the Women's National Invitational Tournament, which will invite 40 teams this year.
-- Roll Wave --
