WBB Looks for First Win vs No. 22/23 USF in American Athletic Conference

GAME 25: TULANE GREEN WAVE (15-9, 6-5) AT #22/23 USF BULLS (19-4, 8-2)
When:	Sunday, Feb. 12 \| 11 a.m. CT
Where:	Tampa, Fla. \| USF Sun Dome
Watch:	ESPN2 \| WatchESPN
Commentators:	Jenn Hildreth (PxP) & Sue Bird (Analyst)
Listen:	WRBH 88.3 FM \| Gus Kattengell (PxP) \| Listen online
Live Scoring:	Click here
Notes:	Tulane
Social:	@GreenWaveWBB

TAMPA - The (-/RV) Tulane women's basketball team (15-9, 6-5) will look to 'kill two birds with one stone' when they challenge No. 22/23 USF (19-4, 8-2) inside the Sun Dome this Sunday at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN2. The Green Wave are looking for their first win against USF while in The American together and also for their first win against a top-25 ranked team in five years.

LAST TIME OUT
• Tulane boasted a 26-19 lead at halftime but a 10-1 Memphis run in the third knotted up the game at 39-all heading into the fourth. The Tigers then jumped out to a 52-44 lead with four minutes remaining before the Wave began to chip away, cutting it to 52-50 with 49 seconds left. Memphis' Taylor Williams then hit a big three before Harlyn Wyatt cut it to 55-52 with 11 seconds left. Tulane then forced a turnover but just had 1.0 on the clock, thus failing to get off the three-point attempt.
• Kolby Morgan earned her second double-double on the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

SERIES HISTORY - USF
• Tulane leads the all-time series 19-15, but the Bulls have dominated the series as of late, boasting an unblemished 6-0 mark since being in The American together.
• If successful on Sunday, the Wave would earn its first win against USF since Dec. 17, 2009, when they won 76-72 in Tampa.

SCOUTING THE BULLS
• South Florida enters Sunday's contest ranked No. 22 in the AP poll and No. 23 in this week's Coaches Poll. The Bulls possess a 19-4 overall record and tied for second in AAC play with an 8-2 mark.
• Outside of UConn, USF also got bit this week by the Tigers, falling 62-57 to Memphis.
• USF is averaging 72.4 ppg with a +13.7 scoring margin, shooting 43.4 percent from the field. The Bulls also enjoy a +9.7 advantage on the boards, averaging 43.1 rebounds per game.
• Two-time AAC Player of the Week Kitija Laksa leads USF with her 19.5 ppg on 40.3 percent shooting from the floor and 38.5 percent from three.
• Maria Jespersen follows right behind with 15.1 ppg while leading the rebounding effort with 9.1 boards per game.
• Ariadna Pujol rounds out the double-digit scoring with her 13.0 ppg.

LAST WIN VS A RANKED TEAM
Defeating USF for the first time while in The American together is not the only obstacle Tulane could overcome on Sunday. In fact, the Wave have not defeated a ranked team since they upset No. 20 LSU in overtime, 65-62 in November of 2011.

LAST TIME VS USF
Back on Jan. 4, Tulane held USF to a then season low in points and their second lowest shooting percentage, but ultimately fell via the final of 62-53. The Wave limited the Bulls to just six points in the second quarter, trailing USF just 26-25 at the half. However, the Bulls utilized a 15-4 run in the third to jump out 43-36 before settling in offensively to reach the final score. Furthermore, Tulane shot better from three, 8-of-20 (40.0 percent), than from two, 14-of-42 (33.3 percent), that night. Other key stat was that USF outscored Tulane, 34-18, in the paint.

REBOUNDING SURGE
Morgan has led the team in rebounding in five straight games, reeling in at least 8+ boards in each (averaging 9.6 in that span), including a career high of 12 at Cincinnati on Jan. 28. Morgan has since raised her rebounding average from 4.3 to 5.4, which leads the team, and has notched two double-doubles in that span, including her last one vs Memphis on Feb. 9.

A HARRY SITUATION
Harlyn Wyatt, aka Harry, has produced quite the offensive surge of late. In fact, Wyatt has reached double-digit points in three of her last four games. Her now six double-digit point performances on the year is tied for third on the team alongside Courtnie Latham. When looking at the last five games, Wyatt is averaging 9.8 points and 6.4 rebounds during that stretch. Lastly, Wyatt's .556 shooting percentage ranks third in The American.

BLOCK PARTY
Morgan has collected 2+ blocks in three straight games, including a career high of three vs Memphis on Feb. 9. Morgan is now averaging 1.2 blocks in conference play which ranks 8th.

IN EXCLUSIVE COMPANY
Senior point guard Leslie Vorpahl became the second person in Tulane history to reach both 1,000 career points and 500 career assists, following in the footsteps of Tulane's all-time assist leader Ashley Langford (1,047 points & 722 assists). Back on Dec. 28, Vorpahl became the 28th member of Tulane's 1,000-career point club. The senior now sits with 1,154 points which ranks 15th all-time. On the assists side, Vorpahl currently ranks third on the all-time list at 501, behind Jamie Kaplan (582) and Langford (722).

WBB Looks for First Win vs No. 22/23 USF in American Athletic Conference

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Players Mentioned

Courtnie Latham

Kolby Morgan

Leslie Vorpahl

Harlyn Wyatt

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