Women's Hoops to Begin Paradise Jam on Thursday
Nov 25, 2015 | Women's Basketball
| (-/RV) Tulane Green Wave (3-1) at the Paradise Jam Tournament | |
| Game 1: Rutgers (2-2) | Thursday, Nov. 26 | 2:15 p.m. CT |
| Game 2: Green Bay (2-0) | Friday, Nov. 27 | Noon CT |
| Game 3: Virginia (4-0) | Saturday, Nov. 28 | Noon CT |
| Where | St. Thomas, V.I. | University of the Virgin Islands |
| Paradise Jam | |
| Watch | Rutgers Stream | Green Bay Stream | Virginia Stream |
| Listen | WRBH 88.3 FM - Gus Kattengell |
| Live Stats | Click Here |
| Printable Notes | Tulane Game 1 Notes | Rutgers | Green Bay | Virginia |
| Social Media | @GreenWaveWBB  | #RollWave | Facebook  | YouTube |
THOMAS, V.I. - The Tulane women's basketball team takes their 3-1 record to St. Thomas this week for the Paradise Jam Tournament, where they'll compete in three straight days against Rutgers, Green Bay and Virginia starting on Thanksgiving Day. Playing at the University of the Virgin Islands, the Green Wave will tip against Rutgers at 2:15 p.m. CT on Thursday, and at Noon against Green Bay and Virginia on Friday and Saturday, respectively. A live stream along with live scoring will be made available on www.TulaneGreenWave.com.
Since 2000, the Paradise Jam has welcomed eight women's teams to St. Thomas, as they are split into two divisions of four, with each division crowning its own tournament champion after round robin play. If two teams have the same record after the third day, then the tournament officials will turn to their tiebreaker system which looks at head-to-head play.
The Olive and Blue are coming off of a 67-63 win at home vs. in-state foe LSU this past Monday, resulting in their fifth win against the Tigers in the past six years. Thus, in this opening stretch of the schedule in which Tulane plays five 2015 NCAA Tournament opponents, the Wave are now 2-1 with wins vs. Little Rock and LSU, as their lone loss came to No. 14 Florida State. The Wave, who received two votes in the Coaches' Poll this week, will conclude the NCAA Tournament stretch with Rutgers and Green Bay.
Kolby Morgan and Leslie Vorpahl continue to shine in the early goings as they lead Tulane in almost every statistical category. Morgan is fresh off of her second career double-double, scoring 18 points and tying her career high of 11 rebounds. Morgan's 19.3 points per game average ranks sixth in The American and 73rd in the country.
Meanwhile, Vorpahl enters the tournament tying her career best stretch of four straight games with double-digit points. Even more impressive is Vorpahl's 6.0 assists per game average and 3.0 steals per game average that rank 27th and 61st in the nation, respectively.
Thursday opponent Rutgers enters with a 2-2 record, as the Scarlet Knights are coming off of a 61-51 win over fellow American member Temple. Rutgers is shooting 44.9 percent from the field but suffer from a -3.0 scoring margin, a -2.2 rebounding margin and a -3.5 turnover margin. Rutgers' offense is powered by senior Kahleah Copper (17.8 ppg) and junior Tyler Scaife (16.5 ppg).
Friday opponent Green Bay has only played two games thus far, defeating Marquette, 75-55, and Vanderbilt, 58-56. The Phoenix boasts five players that average double-digit points but the rest of the roster averages 3.5 points or less. Junior guard Tesha Buck leads the way with 17.5 ppg. Green Bay's Achilles heel lies in its 29.0 rebounds per game, which has resulted in a -7.5 rebounding margin.
Last but not least is Saturday's opponent Virginia. The Cavaliers enter unblemished at 4-0, previously knocking off Middle Tennessee, Norfolk State, Auburn and Longwood. Virginia's top scorer, Aliyah Huland El, may not start, but averages the third most minutes (26.0) while producing 15.0 ppg, including back-to-back games with 20 points. Finally, Virginia has a +23.0 scoring margin, holding its opposition to 53.5 ppg.
Be sure to follow the Tulane women's basketball team on Twitter @GreenWaveWBB for all Paradise Jam and in-game updates and scores.
