Tulane University
9-2
Florida State
12-1
Tulane Falls 65-54 to Florida State
Dec 22, 2014 | Women's Basketball
NEW ORLEANS - In the final non-conference game of the season, the Tulane University women's basketball squad (9-2) fell 65-54 to the visiting Florida State Seminoles (12-1), bringing an end to their five game win streak. Despite the loss, the Green Wave still achieved its fifth 9-2 start in the last six years.
"First of all, I thought our effort was very good," said Tulane head coach Lisa Stockton. "Defensively we did a lot of great things. Watching (Florida State) on tape, I thought they were really impressive. We did a lot of things to take them out of it. I thought our post players did a great job of taking their post players out of it as well."
In the first half, the Seminoles took advantage of Tulane's 10 turnovers, converting them into 13 points, including eight on the fast break. At the end of the half, FSU had shot 53.6 percent from the field compared to Tulane's 23.1 percent.
With the score 21-10 with 8:29 left in the first half, Danielle Blagg ended a three and a half minute scoring drought with the team's first three at 7:45. Tiffany Dale then followed that with a layup to cut the deficit to six.
Important to note that the Olive and Blue did not record their first free-throw attempt until 3:30 left until halftime, and it wasn't until the 2:20 mark when the Wave connected on their first pair from the charity stripe via Kolby Morgan, who cut the lead to 29-21.
Yet, the Seminoles continued to press and negated the Tulane comeback, producing a 7-0 run to take a 36-21 lead into halftime.
Yet, all season, Tulane has been notorious for shooting above 50 percent in the second half, and that's exactly what they did tonight over the course of the next 13 minutes. Thus, an improved second half shooting performance cut what was a 17-point FSU lead to eight points (54-46) with 7:10 remaining.
With Tulane rallying, the Seminoles recaptured the momentum, recording a 9-0 run to extend the lead back to 17 points at 63-46. The Wave ended the game on a 6-0 run but unfortunately ran out of time as FSU won their eighth straight.
"Second half, we really cranked it up defensively," Stockton explained. "They didn't shoot nearly as well and we stopped their transition. I thought the key was we went through a drought and didn't score. We had the opportunity, we cut it to eight, and just couldn't put the ball in the basket. It's hard to do that with a team that can score as much as they can."
Florida State, who entered the contest with a +14.5 rebounding margin, enjoyed a 50-35 advantage on the boards on Monday. FSU also utilized two double-double performances from Ivey Slaughter (21 pts, 10 reb.) and Brittany Brown (14 pts, 11 reb.).
Tulane's defense did hold its own, limiting FSU's 16th nationally ranked offense to a season low 65 points, and forcing the Seminoles to tie its season high of 22 total turnovers. In addition, the Wave defense held Florida State to 34.4 percent shooting in the second half.
"I thought we had really good energy. What impressed me the most about this group is they always believe they can win. Even when it was 15 (points), I didn't see a panic. I didn't see a quit. I felt like they knew they could get back in it. We're good enough defensively to stop people. I think it's just a matter of being able to finish at the other end," Stockton added.
Individually, Tiffany Dale recorded a big night, scoring a season high 17 points on a 7-for-11 day from the floor. The senior also reeled in six rebounds to go along with her three blocks and two steals. Furthermore, junior Chinwe Duru also notched a season high with her 11-point performance, going 5-for-7 from the field.
Up next, the Green Wave go their separate ways for the holidays before reconvening in Cincinnati. Tulane will make its American Athletic Conference debut against the Bearcats on Dec. 28, at 1 p.m. CT.
