Tulane University
16-12, 7-8
UCF
18-9, 8-6
Women’s Hoops Falls 56-51 to UCF
Feb 22, 2017 | Women's Basketball
Harlyn Wyatt led with 12 points
PRINTABLE STAT BOOK | PHOTO GALLERY
NEW ORLEANS – The Tulane women's basketball team's (16-12, 7-8) offense couldn't find its rhythm until the fourth quarter on Wednesday night, and a result, the UCF Knights (18-9, 8-6) walked away with the 56-51 victory inside Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.
Harlyn Wyatt led with 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting, marking her seventh game this season in double-digit points. Meanwhile, Kolby Morgan grabbed a team high seven rebounds to go with her 10 points, as the latter marked her 21st straight game in double-figures.
"There were a lot of things we could have done better. We let up 34 points in the paint and were out-rebounded, so that was pretty significant," Tulane head coach Lisa Stockton stated. "We had good looks and didn't get enough of them down. We just played really flat."
Seven different Tulane players scored the team's first eight baskets to keep it even with UCF at 18-18 at the 3:33 mark in the second quarter. The Knights then pushed ahead with a small 6-2 run, shooting 45.8 percent in the half to the Wave's 30.8 percent, to garner a 24-20 lead at the mid-way point.
The Olive and Blue continued to shoot around 30 percent in the third quarter, while UCF knocked down 8-of-14 in the period. As a result, the Knights built their largest lead of the game, up 41-32, at the end of the third.
The Wave started the fourth quarter on a 6-1 run to cut the deficit to 42-38 with 8:02 on the clock, but UCF's Zykira Lewis answered on the other end with a big three. Later, at 7:08, Tulane entered the bonus, which prompted a 6-0 run, cutting it to 47-46 with 2:46 to play.
However, the Wave defense couldn't get a stop, allowing three consecutive UCF lay-ups, as the Knights extended their lead to 53-46 before settling with the final.
All-in-all, UCF out-rebounded Tulane 38-31 and enjoyed a 34-26 points in the paint differential. The Wave finished 35.1 percent from the field and just 4-of-21 from three-point range compared to UCF's 47.9 shooting percentage.
Up next, the Green Wave will conclude regular season play when they travel to Memphis on Monday, Feb. 27, for a 7 p.m. CT showdown on ESPN3.
