Friday, November 10
Orono, Maine
5 p.m.
Tulane University
at
Maine
Women's Basketball Season Begins Friday at Maine
Nov 9, 2017 | Women's Basketball
| GAME 1: TULANE GREEN WAVE (0-0) AT MAINE BLACK BEARS (0-0) | |
| When: | Friday, Nov. 10 | 5 p.m. CST |
| Where: | Orono, Maine | Memorial Gymnasium (3,100) |
| Watch: | ESPN3 |
| Radio: | WRBH 88.3 FM | Listen Online |
| Live Scoring: | Sidearm Stats |
| Notes: | Tulane | Maine |
| Social: | @GreenWaveWBB |
NEW ORLEANS – Basketball season is back for the Green Wave on Friday as Tulane begins the 2017-18 campaign against Maine. The Green Wave and Black Bears will square off at 5 p.m. central time in a game that is part of the Maine Tip-Off Tournament.
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Tulane will play its second game of the tournament on Saturday against either Dayton or Harvard at either 1 p.m. or 3 p.m. central.
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Tulane is coming off a season where it went 18-15 and reached the third round of the Women's NIT, tying a program-best result in that tournament. The Green Wave return two seniors in Kolby Morgan and Caylah Cruickshank. Morgan was named Preseason All-American Athletic Conference Second Team, and the Green Wave were selected to place sixth in the league's preseason coaches poll.
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STARTING FIVE
- Tulane ended the 2016-17 season with an 18-15 record and reached the third round of the Women's NIT, tying a program record for advancement in that tournament.
- Tulane finished last year ranking No. 74 in the nation in RPI, and the team reached the national postseason for the eighth straight year.
- The Green Wave return seniors Kolby Morgan and Caylah Cruickshank for the 2017-18 season. Morgan could be on pace to break Tulane's all-time scoring record by the end of the year as she needs just 626 total points to set a new program record.
- In the American Athletic Conference preseason poll, Tulane was picked to finish sixth in the league. Morgan was named Preseason All-Conference Second Team after earning that same honor from the league in the 2016-17 postseason.
- Friday's game at Maine will mark the first time the Green Wave have started a season on the road since 2007-08 (at Alabama).
SERIES HISTORY – MAINE
- The Green Wave and Black Bears have met three times before in their history. Tulane holds a 2-1 record in those three games.
- The home team has won all three games in the series. The first meeting – a Maine victory – was on Dec. 30, 1987.
- In the teams' last meeting, Tulane claimed a 77-62 win over Maine on Dec. 28, 2016 in New Orleans. Kolby Morgan scored 26 points on 11 of 17 shooting while Leslie Vorpahl had 24 on 7 of 8 shooting and seven made free throws.
SCOUTING THE BLACK BEARS
- Maine ended the 2016-17 season with an 18-16 overall record and a 9-7 mark in conference play. The Black Bears made it to the championship game of the America East tournament before falling to Albany. Maine did not advance to any national postseason.
- The Black Bears will be a young team in 2017-18 with just one senior – Kirsten Johnson – and one redshirt junior in Tanesha Sutton. Nine of the 13 players on the roster are underclassmen: five freshmen and four sophomores.
- Maine lost its top two leading scorers from last year in Sigi Koizar (14.1 ppg) and Laia Sole (9.4 ppg). The team's top returning scorer is sophomore Blanca Millan (8.6 ppg). Sutton was the team's top rebounder in 2016-17 with 4.8 boards per game.
EXHIBITION SUCCESSES
Tulane got the opportunity to participate in two exhibition games this preseason and won them both. The Green Wave dominated against Loyola-New Orleans last Thursday, defeating the neighboring Wolf Pack 78-48. Tulane then followed that with a 65-51 victory over South Alabama on Sunday in a game played for hurricane relief efforts.
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WYATT'S DOUBLE-DOUBLE
A big part of Tulane's exhibition victory against South Alabama on Sunday was Harlyn Wyatt's double-double performance. The junior had 17 points and 11 rebounds, both of which would be career highs if the game counted. Wyatt also had 13 rebounds in the exhibition win over Loyola on November 2.
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MORGAN SCORING EARLY
Through Tulane's two exhibition games, Kolby Morgan has showcased her offensive prowess for the Green Wave. Morgan has led Tulane with 36 total points including 13 against Loyola and 23 against South Alabama.
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PRESEASON HONORS
The American Athletic Conference revealed its Preseason Poll and Preseason All-Conference Teams at Media Day in Philadelphia on October 16. Tulane was picked by the league coaches to finish sixth in the American, scoring 73 points in the voting to finish six points behind fifth-place SMU. Senior guard Kolby Morgan was also honored by the league, earning All-Conference Second Team honors.
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CAREER NUMBERS WATCH
Coming up soon:
- Caylah Cruickshank needs two more points for 100 in her career.
- Ksenija Madzarevich is one rebound shy of 50.
- Kolby Morgan will reach 500 career rebounds with four more and 200 career assists with seven more.
- Meredith Schulte is 10 rebounds away from 250 and 27 points away from 300.
- Maddison Wells will accumulate 50 career points with two more.
NEXT UP
Tulane continues the Maine Tip-Off Tournament on Saturday, taking on either Harvard or Dayton at 1 p.m. or 3 p.m. central. Harvard and Dayton play on Friday as well, and a Tulane win over Maine would pit the Green Wave against the Harvard/Dayton winner. With a loss, Tulane would face the Harvard/Dayton loser.
Follow Tulane women's basketball on Twitter and Facebook. Follow Tulane Athletics on Twitter, FacebookÂ, Instagram and @TulaneAthletics on Snapchat.
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