Tulane Classic Returns as Women's Hoops Faces Troy, Samford/UTEP

GAME 12: TULANE GREEN WAVE (6-5) vs. TROY TROJANS (5-4)
When:	Thursday, Dec. 21 \| 2:30 p.m. CST
Where:	New Orleans \| Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse
Watch:	Tulane All-Access
Radio:	WRBH 88.3 FM \| Listen Online
Live Scoring:	Sidearm Stats
Notes:	Tulane \| Troy
Social:	@GreenWaveWBB

NEW ORLEANS – Riding high after an 18-point victory on Sunday, the Green Wave women's basketball team will welcome three teams to Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse this week for the 22nd Annual Tulane Classic Presented by Embassy Suites Hotel.

Tulane will first face off against two-time defending Sun Belt Conference Tournament Champion Troy at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday. The Green Wave will then play either UTEP or Samford on Friday at either 1 p.m. or 3 p.m. Samford and UTEP will square off in Thursday's second game at approximately 5 p.m.

Both games Thursday will be part of a tripleheader with the men's basketball team's game against South Alabama at noon.

Fans can watch all Tulane Classic games from home through TulaneGreenWave.com. The games will also be broadcast on the radio in New Orleans on WRBH 88.3 FM.

STARTING FIVE
1.   Tulane had one of its biggest wins of the season on Sunday, defeating Conference USA preseason favorite Middle Tennessee by a 62-44 score. The Green Wave defense held the Blue Raiders to just 27 percent shooting.
2.   Kolby Morgan led the Green Wave with 19 points against Middle Tennessee, marking 10 of 11 games she has led the Tulane offense. Morgan has now scored in double figures in 37 straight games.
3.   Kolby Morgan is currently the seventh-leading active scorer in the country. She is also 20th in the country in total points per game this year with 20.9 as of Thursday morning.
4.   After playing seven of its first eight games on the road, Tulane is currently on a season-long five-game homestand. Tulane will not play on the road again until December 31 at USF.
5.   Thursday and Fridays games will be part of the 22nd Annual Tulane Classic. The Green Wave have won their home holiday tournament 18 of the previous 21 seasons including nine straight years.

SERIES HISTORY – TROY
•   Troy and Tulane have met just three times in their history, and the teams have not squared off since 1996.
•   Tulane holds a 3-0 record all-time against the Trojans.
•   The Green Wave's victories came by scores of 87-67 in 1993, 82-75 in 1994 and 95-77 in 1996.

SCOUTING THE TROJANS
•   The Trojans, who hail from Troy, Alabama, hold a 5-4 record this season. They have defeated Stillman, Alabama State, Tennessee State, Jacksonville and Montevallo.
•   Troy has the nation's fifth-best scoring offense, as they average 89.4 points per game and scored 130 against Montevallo.
•   Three players on the roster – Amber Rivers, Amanda Mendoza and Kayla Robinson – score in double figures while seven more score at least 5 points per game.
•   Troy is the two-time defending Sun Belt Conference Tournament champion and reached the NCAA Tournament First Round the last two years.

TULANE CLASSIC HISTORY
Thursday and Friday marks the 22nd edition of the Tulane Classic. Dating back to 1996, Tulane has won 18 of the 21 previous tournaments including nine straight. The Green Wave's cumulative record in the Tulane Classic is 39-3. The team has never gone 0-2 in a Tulane Classic. Last season, Tulane defeated Eastern Washington in the first round and Auburn in the championship game to earn the team crown. Kolby Morgan was named MVP.

NO OPPONENT IN DOUBLE FIGURES
In Tulane's victory over Middle Tennessee on Sunday, no player on the Blue Raiders roster scored in double figures. That marked the first time Tulane has not allowed a double-digit scorer since March 2015 against Houston.

GETTING REVENGE
In last season's loss to Middle Tennessee, senior Kolby Morgan was held scoreless for the first and only time in her Green Wave career. But on Sunday against the Blue Raiders, Morgan got revenge on Middle Tennessee in a big way. Morgan scored 19 points in the game and led Tulane to an 18-point victory. She also had six rebounds, the second-most on the Green Wave roster.

DEFENSE DOES IT
Tulane played incredible defense on Sunday, holding Middle Tennessee to just 27 percent shooting from the field. The Blue Raiders made a mere 12 of their 44 field goal attempts and got 16 of their 44 points at the free-throw line. MTSU's 44 points were the second-lowest point total for a Green Wave opponent this year.

MORGAN'S DOUBLE-FIGURE STREAK
Thanks to her 19 points against MTSU on Sunday, Kolby Morgan has now scored in double figures in 37 consecutive games. The last time Morgan went without a double-digit scoring game? December 3, 2016 at Middle Tennessee State where she failed to score. Of her 112 career games with Tulane, Morgan has scored in double figures in 94 of them.

OUTREBOUNDING = OUTSCORING
The Green Wave are now 4-0 this season when outrebounding opponents and 2-5 when the opponent grabs more rebounds. In victories, Tulane has combined for a +25 rebounding margin. In losses, the Green Wave are a combined -78.

CAREER NUMBERS WATCH
Coming up soon:
•   Tene Thompson needs two more rebounds for 200.
•   Kaila Manuirirangi is now five made field goals away from 50.
•   Kolby Morgan will move up to third all-time in scoring in Tulane history with 12 more points and reach 400 defensive rebounds with four more.

NEXT UP
Tulane will finish off its non-conference schedule on Friday with its second game of the Tulane Classic. With a win against Troy, Tulane would face the winner of Samford/UTEP at 3 p.m. With a loss against Troy, Tulane would play the Samford/UTEP loser at 1 p.m.

Tulane Classic Returns as Women's Hoops Faces Troy, Samford/UTEP

Players Mentioned

Kolby Morgan

Tene Thompson

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