Bulls Too Much for Women's Hoops in American Opener

Sunday, December 31

Tampa, Fla.

11 a.m.

Tulane University

8-6, 0-1AAC

USF

11-3, 1-0AAC

TULANE

USF

Photo by: Parker Waters

Bulls Too Much for Women's Hoops in American Opener

Dec 31, 2017 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

TAMPA, Fla. – The Tulane women's basketball team (8-6, 0-1 American Athletic Conference) was unable to close out 2017 with a victory on Sunday, falling 75-46 at No. 25/24 USF at the Sun Dome.

USF (11-3, 1-0) controlled all aspects of the game, picking up 20 assists to just seven turnovers while shooting 47 percent from the field and 39 percent from 3-point range. The Bulls outscored the Green Wave 34-14 in the paint and won the rebounding battle 48-34, capitalizing with 14 second-chance points.

Meredith Schulte was the Green Wave's leading scorer with 10 points while Kolby Morgan and Krystal Freeman tied for a team high with seven rebounds. Morgan was also the team's top passer with five assists.

Three other Tulane players tied for the second-most points on the team. Morgan, Sierra Cheatham and Kayla Manuirirangi all had 8 points. Morgan failed to record double-figure scoring for the first time since Dec. 3, 2016 in a loss at Middle Tennessee, snapping her 40-game streak of double-figure scoring.

The Green Wave kept up with the Bulls for the first five minutes of the game, trailing 12-11 at the first media timeout. A 6-0 run on 3-pointers from Morgan and Manuirirangi helped the team trail by just 1 at that point.

But when the contest resumed, USF scored 10 of the quarter's final 12 points to take a 22-13 lead through 10 minutes. The Bulls then opened the game up even more in the second quarter, outscoring the Green Wave 22-7 to take a 44-20 lead into halftime.

Morgan had 6 of her 8 points in the first four minutes of the game and did not score again until midway through the fourth quarter.

Tulane continues its conference-opening road swing on Wednesday at Tulsa. The Green Wave and Golden Hurricane will tip off at 11 a.m. central.