Tulane University
4-3
Virginia
5-2
Women's Hoops Earns 67-62 Win Over Virginia
Nov 28, 2015 | Women's Basketball
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ST. THOMAS, V.I. - The Tulane women's basketball team (4-3) ended their time at the Paradise Jam Tournament on a high note, defeating Virginia (5-2), 67-62, on Saturday afternoon. Seven different Green Wave tallied points as they posted their best shooting day of the tournament at 44.2 percent.
"I definitely thought we played a lot more aggressive today," Tulane head coach Lisa Stockton said. "We rebounded better. I thought we had great play from our post players, which is what we haven't had in this tournament. Tierra Jones really set the tone for us. Also look at what our rookies did for us in Harlyn Wyatt and Taylor Emery. Everyone is getting better and we played pretty well today."
Tulane jumped on Virginia early, garnering a 16-5 lead near the end of the first quarter as Kolby Morgan, Courtnie Latham, Leslie Vorpahl, Chinwe Duru and Harlyn Wyatt all contributed baskets. The scoring distribution continued in the second quarter when Tierra Jones and Taylor Emery added their names to the stat sheet as well.
However, the Cavaliers rallied with a 15-4 run to tie it at 20-20 at the 4:46 mark. Next, a Morgan three-pointer, followed by two free throws from Jones, gave the Wave a 25-24 lead at the half.
Tulane's starters pushed the Wave's lead to 40-30 at the 4:35 mark in the third quarter, but some Green Wave fouls, coupled with some untimely turnovers, allowed Virginia to end the period on a 15-2 run, grabbing their first lead of the game at 45-42.
Yet, the Olive and Blue persevered by kicking off the fourth quarter with a countering 11-2 run to reclaim the lead at 53-47. Tulane turned to Morgan and Emery who scored 10 and seven points respectively in the final period, along with nine successful free throw attempts down the stretch, to stave off the Cavaliers for the victory.
"We made some bad decisions in the third quarter with those fouls but luckily we were able to recover from that," Stockton explained. "Defensively down the stretch we did a tremendous job of not giving them open looks."
Morgan finished with 21 points, on 7-of-16 shooting, while knocking down four three-pointers for the second straight game. The sophomore guard averaged 17.7 points over the past three days in St. Thomas as today also marked her third 20+ point performance on the season.
Jones joined Morgan in double figures with a season best 12 points, including a career tying 6-for-6 day from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Vorpahl led the Wave in assists (4) and rebounds (8), with the latter tying her career high for the second time this year.
"We played some really good competition and we got a lot of film to watch and a lot of things to work on," Stockton added. "It's helped us as coaches to know where our weaknesses are so we can address them next week."
Up next, the Wave return home for one game when they host McNeese State on Dec. 6 at 2 p.m. CT inside Avron B. Fogelman Arena in Devlin Fieldhouse. For ticket information, fans can call (504) 861-WAVE (9283) or visit the ticket office located on the first floor of the James W. Wilson Jr. Center. Finally, for all women's hoops updates, be sure to follow Tulane on Twitter: @GreenWaveWBB.
