Women's Basketball Scores, Defends Down the Stretch to Beat ECU

Wednesday, January 24

New Orleans

7 p.m.

Tulane University

11-9, 3-4

ECU

10-10, 2-5

East Carolina

Tulane

Women's Basketball Scores, Defends Down the Stretch to Beat ECU

Jan 24, 2018 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

NEW ORLEANS – With the game on the line Wednesday night, the Green Wave stepped up on offense and defense to seal its second consecutive victory.

With the game tied at 51-51 with just over five minutes to play, Tulane allowed East Carolina to make just 2 of its final 12 field goal attempts and scored 13 points of its own in a 64-58 victory over the Pirates at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.

Tulane (11-9, 3-4 American Athletic Conference) got 20 points from Kolby Morgan, and the senior scored 10 in the fourth quarter after not scoring in the third. ECU (10-10, 2-5) put the Green Wave at the free-throw line 13 times in the last 10 minutes, and Tulane converted nine of those shots to keep a distance from ECU.

Morgan also finished with her first double-double of the season thanks to a season-best 11 rebounds, and she came three assists shy of a triple-double with seven helpers.

The win was the Green Wave's fourth straight against the Pirates, but things were anything but assured until the final moments.

ECU's Thais Oliveira knocked down a jumper with 5:25 left on the clock, knotting up the game at 51-51. But Morgan responded right away, making a move to the basket and sinking an and-1 layup. With the free throw, Tulane was ahead 54-51. ECU got back within 1 at 54-53, but the Green Wave then proceeded to score 7 of the next 8 points to take a 61-54 lead, its largest of the game.

In that stretch, Harlyn Wyatt made two free throws to reach 500 career points, Morgan made three free throws and Morgan hit a jumper. ECU missed four more field-goal attempts in the final two minutes, and Tulane celebrated as the buzzer went off.

Besides Morgan's double-digit scoring, Kayla Manuirirangi also scored 10 point and had five assists. Wyatt had 8 points and seven rebounds, and Maddison Wells had a season-high 7.

In the first half, the teams played to a near draw with both teams' statistics mirroring each other. Both teams shot 43 percent from the field, ECU had a narrow 19-18 rebounding edge and both teams had 16 points in the paint. That led to a tight score at the break, with the Green Wave ahead by a 29-28 margin. Morgan led the team with 10 points, six rebounds and three assists at halftime.

At the end of the game, the teams were still even at 30 points in the paint each and had tied with 38 rebounds and 12 steals. But the difference turned out to come at the free-throw line. The Green Wave knocked down 10 from the charity stripe while ECU made just four free throws.

This weekend, Tulane is off to face the nation's No. 1 team. The Green Wave will travel to Storrs, Connecticut to take on UConn on Saturday at 11 a.m. central time.