Tulane University
6-3
Ole Miss
6-5
WBB Completes 61-59 Comeback at Ole Miss
Dec 16, 2015 | Women's Basketball
OXFORD, Miss. - Starting its span of four games in six days in dramatic fashion, the Tulane women's basketball team (6-3) earned a come-from-behind 61-59 road victory at Ole Miss (6-5) on Wednesday night. As a result, the Green Wave improved to 2-0 against SEC opponents this season.
"We did a nice job in that fourth quarter with playing really good defense and getting rebounds and being able to convert on the other end," Tulane women's basketball head coach Lisa Stockton said. "We had struggled to be consistent on both ends of the floor. I thought we really executed at times. We had broken plays that we were able to finish. That was just a toughness game. This was a game our players played really tough toward the end."
The first quarter went back-and forth with seven lead changes until the 1:03 mark when it was tied at 15. Ole Miss then proceeded to go on a 13-3 run, building a 10-point lead at 28-18, which was its largest of the game.
Tierra Jones got the Wave back on track, scoring five of the squad's next 11 points. Combine that with Tulane's defense which disrupted Ole Miss' attack down the stretch, causing the Rebels to go 0-for-8 from the field, including a 3:01 scoring drought, which allowed the Wave to pull within three at the half, down 32-29.
Neither side could find its rhythm in the third quarter, as both squads only connected on four made field goals with the Wave suffering from eight turnovers in the period. However, what happened next would be a first for both squads in the 2015-16 season, as Ole Miss was 6-0 when possessing a lead going into the fourth quarter while Tulane was 0-3 when trailing with one quarter to go.
Tulane, who had trailed for 27 minutes in the contest, reclaimed the lead at 46-45 with 6:53 to go and then turned to its starters to close it out. Baskets from Jones, Kolby Morgan and a three-pointer from Leslie Vorpahl kept the Wave neck-and-neck with Ole Miss. Then senior Chinwe Duru scored six of the Wave's final seven points, four of which came from the free-throw line, to help ice the game along with Tulane's defense which forced a very pivotal turnover with 48 seconds remaining.
Duru led the squad in scoring for the first time this year with a season high 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field, adding on five rebounds, three blocks and one steal to her stat line. Jones recorded her second double-digit scoring performance in a three-game span with a season high tying 12 points tonight, also garnering a team high eight rebounds. Finally, Morgan rounded out the double-digit scoring with 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting.
In the victory, Tulane was able to overcome a 46-35 rebounding disadvantage and 25 total team turnovers. In addition, the Wave shot 46.3 percent from the field compared to Ole Miss' 30.9 percent.
"The two seniors had some big plays tonight, especially in that second half, when we really needed to score," Stockton explained. "We really made an effort in that last quarter to get Chinwe the ball on the block and she was able to convert and get to the free throw line."
The Green Wave now return home for three consecutive games before departing for a quick holiday break. Up first, are the Southern University Jaguars on Friday, Dec. 18, at 5 p.m. CT. Then the Wave hosts its holiday tradition, the 20th annual Tulane Classic, presented by Embassy Suites, from Dec. 20-21, all at 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 in-game updates, be sure to follow Tulane women's basketball on Twitter: @GreenWaveWBB.
