Women's Basketball Off to West Coast for Thanksgiving Tournament

GAME 4: (RV) TULANE GREEN WAVE vs. (#18/23) CAL GOLDEN BEARS
When:	Friday, November 23 \| 6 p.m. CST
Where:	San Diego, Calif. \| Jenny Craig Pavilion
Watch:	San Diego Athletics
Radio:	WRBH 88.3 FM \| Listen Online
Live Scoring:	San Diego Live Stats
Notes:	Tulane \| Cal
Social:	@GreenWaveWBB

NEW ORLEANS – Tulane's winning streak is now at three to begin the season, but the team will have its toughest test yet on Friday when it plays No. 18 Cal in the first game of the University of San Diego Thanksgiving Tournament. Tipoff between the Green Wave and Golden Bears is set for 4 p.m. central at Jenny Craig Pavilion.

STARTING FIVE

Tulane stayed undefeated this season by defeating Pacific-12 Conference foe Washington in New Orleans on Thursday night by a 63-51 score. Tulane is now 3-0 for the first time since 2014-15.
The Green Wave defense has excelled all season long, keeping opponents to just 53.7 points per game. That number puts Tulane 64th in the country.
Sierra Cheatham shot the lights out on Sunday, scoring a career-high 22 points while dropping in eight field goals and a career-best six rebounds. She has now led Tulane in scoring in two games this year after putting up 17 in the season opener against Texas Southern.
Tulane freshmen and sophomores have combined for 67 percent of Green Wave scoring, 66 percent of Tulane minutes and 71 percent of Tulane's assists. Tulane's underclassmen have also contributed 62 percent of the team rebounding.
Tulane is receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll for the first time since February 2017. The Green Wave has earned one vote in the poll.

SERIES HISTORY – CALIFORNIA

The Green Wave and Golden Bears have met just once before, with Cal winning that lone meeting at the Oakland Tribune Classic in Berkeley, California, by a 66-61 score on Dec. 7, 2003.
Against current members of the Pacific-12 Conference, Tulane is 4-6 all-time. That record includes a 1-0 mark against Oregon and Washington and 1-1 records against Colorado and Oregon State.
Tulane has never beaten a Pacific-12 Conference opponent from the state of California.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN BEARS

The Golden Bears, based out of Berkeley, California, are a perfect 4-0 this season and are ranked No. 18 in this week's AP Poll. Cal has victories over AAC member Houston, Penn State, BYU and Pacific.
Kristine Anigwe has been a star for the Bears, racking up an incredible 25.5 points per game so far and leading the team with 14.8 rebounds per game. Nationally, those numbers put her seventh and sixth in the country, respectively.
Cal gets to the line often, and their 73 made free throws so far this season ranks eighth in the country. The Bears' offense in general is prolific, averaging 76.5 points per game to rank 71st in the country.
Coach Lindsay Gottlieb is in her eighth year at Cal and holds a 163-76 record leading the Bears. She has taken Cal to the NCAA Tournament in six of her previous seven years including a Final Four appearance in 2013.

TULANE VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
The Green Wave's game against Cal on Friday marks its first against a ranked team this year. Tulane is 13-79 against AP ranked teams all time. The Green Wave's last win against a ranked team came on Nov. 19, 2011 against LSU in overtime. Tulane is 0-4 lifetime against the nation's No. 18 ranked team.

A QUARTER CENTURY WITH COACH
Now entering her 25th year with the Green Wave women's basketball program in 2018-19, it's hard to imagine anyone else at the helm besides Coach Lisa Stockton. Her numbers are staggering: three different conferences, four conference tournament championships, two conference regular-season championships, six All-Americans, 11 NCAA Tournament berths, seven WNIT spots and a boatload of wins. No one in the history of Tulane women's basketball is even close to Stockton's career numbers.

STOCKTON NEARS 500
Entering Friday's game against Cal, Coach Lisa Stockton has amassed 496 career victories at Tulane. She is just four wins shy of 500. Stockton has more than nine times as many wins as the second-winningest coach in program history.

UNDERCLASSMEN OVERPERFORMING
Tulane's roster is seeing a youth movement so far in 2018-19 with underclassmen getting a supermajority of minutes played, points scored and assists. Freshmen and sophomores have combined for 67 percent of Green Wave scoring, 66 percent of Tulane minutes and 71 percent of Tulane's assists. Tulane's underclassmen have also contributed 62 percent of the team rebounding.

RECEIVING A VOTE
Tulane is in the "receiving votes" category of the USA Today Coaches Poll for the first time since February 2017. The Green Wave has earned one vote in the poll after a 3-0 start. Tulane's RPI is also No. 12 in the country as of Wednesday morning according to RealTimeRPI.com.

GUTIERREZ NAMED FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Following a week that saw her contribute all over the court in two Tulane victories, Erin Gutierrez was named the American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Week on Monday.
Gutierrez combined for 17 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and seven steals in Tulane wins over LSU and Washington last week. She is Tulane's first conference Freshman of the Week since current senior Meredith Schulte claimed the honor on Jan. 11, 2016.

CHEATHAM DROPS 22
One game after failing to score against LSU, sophomore Sierra Cheatham went off against Washington for a career-high 22 points. Cheatham's career night came thanks to a flawless 5-of-5 performance from the field in the second half including a 3-of-3 effort from the 3-point line. Cheatham is Tulane's first 20-point scorer this year and set career highs with eight made field goals and six rebounds.

POWER FIVE VICTORIES
With its wins over LSU and Washington to begin the season, the Green Wave are one of just two teams in The American to defeated two Power 5 teams so far this season as of Monday morning. The others are UConn (Ohio State, Vanderbilt) and USF (Ohio State, Oklahoma). Tulane last won two consecutive games against Power 5 competition on Dec. 17 and Dec. 22, 2016 when it beat North Carolina State and Auburn. Tulane last won three straight games against Power 5 opposition on Dec. 16, 2015; March 16, 2016; and March 21, 2016, against Ole Miss, Alabama and Georgia Tech. The latter two games in that streak came in the WNIT.

MANU FROM DEEP
Kayla Manuirirangi scored 11 points in the first half against Washington on Sunday including three made 3-pointers. Tulane's top returning scorer entering the year after averaging 7.7 points per game, she has now made 10 3-pointers through three games and is shooting 10 of 18 from downtown. Manuirirangi ranks 39th in the nation currently with those 3.33 made 3-pointers per game.

DEFENSE DOES IT
The Green Wave defense has been remarkable through three games this season, giving up just 53.7 points per game this season. Tulane has allowed 56, 54 and 51 points in its three games, and that 53.7 points per game allowed ranks 64th in the nation. The Green Wave have also blocked 12 opponent shots this year and have allowed opponents to shoot just 19.6 percent from the 3-point line. That number is the 26th-best 3-point defense in the nation.

THE BIG 700
Besides being a big victory over an in-state rival, Thursday's win at LSU was also a milestone for the Tulane women's basketball program. The Green Wave have now compiled 700 victories in their existence. Coach Lisa Stockton has been responsible for 495 of those 700 wins.

CAREER NUMBERS WATCH
Against Washington:

Meredith Schulte made her 200th career field goal.

Coming up soon:

Kaila Anderson needs 7 points for 100.
Kayla Manuirirangi needs 10 rebounds for 100.
Ksenija Madzarevic is one point away from 100.
Sierra Cheatham is 5 points shy of 200.

NEXT UP
After taking on the Golden Bears, Tulane will challenge a different foe in San Diego on Saturday. The Green Wave are set for a test against Cleveland State on Saturday at 4 p.m. central at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.

Women's Basketball Off to West Coast for Thanksgiving Tournament

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Players Mentioned

Kaila Anderson

Sierra Cheatham

Erin Gutierrez

Ksenija Madzarevic

Kayla Manuirirangi

Meredith Schulte

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Tulane University Athletics

Women's Basketball Off to West Coast for Thanksgiving Tournament

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kaila Anderson

Sierra Cheatham

Erin Gutierrez

Ksenija Madzarevic

Kayla Manuirirangi

Meredith Schulte

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