Tulane University
18-5, 9-3
Temple
11-13, 7-4
Efficient Offense Propels Tulane to 77-63 Win over Temple
Feb 7, 2015 | Women's Basketball
NEW ORLEANS - For the first time in over six years, the Tulane women's basketball team (18-5, 9-3) hosted Temple (11-13, 7-4) inside Devlin Fieldhouse, as the Green Wave welcomed the Owls with a 77-63 win on Saturday morning. Four Green Wave players scored in double digits, including a career high of 23 points from Chinwe Duru.
Duru, Kolby Morgan, Leslie Vorpahl and Courtnie Latham combined for 61 of the team's points. Duru, who connected on her first six from the field, finished 11-of-16, which was a career high as well. The junior also came one board shy of a double-double and collected two blocks.
Meanwhile Morgan registered her 16th double-digit performance of the season on a 5-for-11 day with four assists. Next, Latham recorded her third straight game in double figures with 10 points, shooting 4-for-5. Finally, Vorpahl achieved 13 points and a season high seven assists with no turnovers.
"Tremendous team effort on both sides of the floor," Tulane head coach Lisa Stockton said. "Defensively, we held them to 12.5 percent from three today and I give a lot of credit to our kids for being very focused. Offensively, we shared the ball. You look at the assists and the varied scoring. Just a great day on both ends."
After an early Temple basket at 19:41, the Green Wave kept the Owls off the board for five minutes, producing a 9-0 run. The Wave then maintained a small lead till the 11:01 mark, where they once again kept Temple scoreless for a five minute stretch, a.k.a. nine straight empty possessions, cranking out a 10-0 run this time to build a 29-15 lead.
Eventually, Tulane took a 45-26 lead into half, its highest first half total on the year. The Wave's defense also left its mark on the half, forcing 15 Temple turnovers, as the Owls ultimately finished with 18 in the game.
Duru, Morgan and Latham continued to roll in the second half, tallying the team's first seven points to move the score to 52-34 at the 15:48 mark. Next, Temple tried to rally, recording a mini 6-0 run, but the Wave fought back, pushing their lead back up to 60-42. The Owls crept back again at the 7:35 mark, cutting the deficit to 12 (62-50), but the Wave held once more, maintaining a double-digit lead for the remainder of the contest.
"Once again, it was great team basketball," Stockton added. "We had different scorers, we had three's, we had scores in the paint, and they just couldn't stop Chinwe. I just thought we were really efficient on offense."
The Olive and Blue finished with a .492 shooting percentage and connected on 5-of-11 from beyond the arc, with three treys coming from Vorpahl. The Wave recorded a season high 21 assists on 30 made field goals, while tallying 30 points in the paint and 22 points off of turnovers.
In addition, Temple, who was fresh off of a win vs Memphis in which the Owls drained a program record 15 three-pointers was stymied by the Wave's 61st nationally ranked three-point defense Tulane held the Owls to 12.5 percent from beyond the arc, including a 0-10 second half.
Up next, the Green Wave remain home to take on UCF on Tuesday, Feb. 10, at 7 p.m. CT, once again on the American Digital Network.
For single game tickets, starting as low as $5, please contact Athletic Ticket Sales & Service at (504) 861-WAVE or online at www.TulaneGreenWave.com.
