Women's Hoops Set to Host Tulane Classic for 23rd Straight Year

23rd ANNUAL TULANE CLASSIC
When:	Friday: Texas State vs. Saint Mary's, 1 p.m. \| Tulane vs. Old Dominion, 3 p.m. Saturday: Consolation Game, 12 p.m. \| Championship Game, 2 p.m.
Where:	New Orleans \| Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse
Watch:	Tulane All-Access
Radio:	WRBH 88.3 FM \| Listen Online
Live Scoring:	StatBroadcast
Notes:	Tulane \| Texas State
Social:	@GreenWaveWBB

NEW ORLEANS – The Tulane Classic is back for the 23rd consecutive season at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse on Friday and Saturday. The Green Wave open their home tournament at 3 p.m. Friday when they face Old Dominion. Texas State and Saint Mary's are also in New Orleans for a first-round matchup Friday at 1 p.m.

The consolation game will be played Saturday at 12 p.m. with the championship game held at 2 p.m.

STARTING FIVE

Tulane is 7-2 on the season and on a six-game winning streak at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse. Tulane last lost a home game in February.
Coach Lisa Stockton hit a major milestone on December 4 against Nicholls, winning her 500th game with the Green Wave. Now in her 25th year leading Tulane, Stockton is averaging 20 wins per season.
Freshmen and sophomores have combined for 69 percent of Green Wave scoring, 65 percent of Tulane minutes and 74 percent of Tulane's assists. Tulane's underclassmen have also contributed 57 percent of the team rebounding.
Following the most recent week that Tulane played, sophomore Sierra Cheatham was named to the American Athletic Conference Honor Roll for her two double-digit scoring performances against Nicholls and Alabama.
Tulane will be hosting the Tulane Classic for the 23rd consecutive year. The Green Wave have won their home tournament 20 times including the last 10 years in a row.

SERIES HISTORY – OLD DOMINION

Tulane and Old Dominion have played just twice in program history, with the Green Wave winning both games.
Tulane defeated ODU by a 62-59 score in 2010 – also in the Tulane Classic –and a 92-62 score in 2014 when the teams were briefly rivals in Conference USA.

SCOUTING THE MONARCHS

The Monarchs, based in Norfolk, Virginia, have posted a strong 7-2 record to begin the year. They have defeated Campbell, Norfolk State, Cincinnati, Jacksonville, Tennessee Tech, William & Mary and VCU.
ODU's two losses this year were against major-conference foes Virginia and then-No. 13 North Carolina State.
Ajah Wayne is the team's top scorer with 13.4 points per game, but Victoria Morris is right on her heels with 13.1 points per game, and Taylor Edwards isn't far behind either with 12.6 points per game.
Wayne is the leading rebounder on the roster with 9.9 boards per game, and Edwards has a team-high 46 assists.

SERIES HISTORY – TEXAS STATE

Tulane and Texas State have squared off just one time before in program history, with the Green Wave holding a 1-0 series lead.
The one game between the sides was played in 2004, with Tulane claiming a narrow 74-71 win at the Bobcat Classic in San Marcos, Texas.

SCOUTING THE BOBCATS

The Bobcats, based out of San Marcos, Texas, are 4-5 so far this season with wins over Nicholls, UTSA, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and St. Thomas. Texas State has lost to New Mexico, Montana State, Oral Roberts, Oklahoma State and Missouri.
Texas State was the Sun Belt Conference runner-up in 2017-18, just falling short of a league tournament title.
Toshua Leavitt is the team's top scorer with 16.6 points per game and 32 made 3-pointers this season. Brooke Holle is also in double figures with 10.8 points per game.
Holle leads the team in rebounding as well with 5.6 points per game, and Leavitt has a team-high 30 assists.

SERIES HISTORY – SAINT MARY'S

Tulane and Saint Mary's have never met.

SCOUTING THE GAELS

The Gaels, based in Moraga, California, hold a 5-4 record in 2018-19 but have faced a very challenging schedule. Their losses have come against Oregon State, Oregon, Cal and UC Davis, three of which are ranked teams.
Sydney Raggio is the team's top scorer, averaging 12.6 points per game. She is joined in double figures by Emily Codding's 11.9 points per game and Megan McKay's 10.2 points per game.
Raggio also leads Saint Mary's with 8.8 rebounds per game, and Madeline Holland leads the team with 37 assists.

GREEN WAVE IN THE TULANE CLASSIC
Friday and Saturday's edition of the Tulane Classic marks the 23rd annual edition of the tournament. The team began hosting the Tulane Classic in 1996 and has won the tournament 20 of 22 times. Tulane last lost the Tulane Classic in 2007 when Virginia Tech claimed the crown, making it 10 straight winning years for the Green Wave. Tulane holds a 42-2 all-time record in the tournament.

A QUARTER CENTURY WITH COACH
Now in 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 GETS 500
With a victory over Nicholls on December 4, Coach Lisa Stockton recorded her 500th victory at Tulane. In her 25 years with the Green Wave, Stockton is averaging 20 wins per season – and rising. She is currently the nation's 10th-longest tenured coach at a D1 school. She has more than eight times as many wins as the second-place coach in program history (Joline Matsunami, 1985-90, 60 wins).

HOME SWEET HOME
Tulane is 5-0 so far at home in 2018-19 and on a six-game winning streak at Fogelman in Devlin dating back to last year's season finale. Tulane's home winning streak is its first of five or more games since an 11-game home winning streak spanning Feb. 14-Dec. 28, 2016. The Green Wave have never posted a single-season home record below .500 in Lisa Stockton's 24 full years as the coach.

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 69 percent of Green Wave scoring, 65 percent of Tulane minutes and 74 percent of Tulane's assists. Tulane's underclassmen have also contributed 57 percent of the team rebounding.

CHEATHAM HONORED
Sierra Cheatham earned her first career recognition by the American Athletic Conference last week when she was named to the league's honor roll on December 10. Cheatham posted two double-digit scoring games against Nicholls and Alabama, scoring 14 points against the Colonels in 26 minutes and adding 13 against Alabama. Cheatham also had six rebounds and three blocks as Tulane went 1-1 on the week. Cheatham's honor is the third Honor Roll appearance for a Tulane player this year (Freeman, twice).

HEIDE HEIDE HEIDE HIGHS
Freshman Mia Heide had one of the most productive games of her young career on December 8 at Alabama, tying a career high with 8 points while also setting new career bests with four made field goals and six rebounds. Heide also had a block, and she now has eight blocks in nine games on the season.

HOLDING THE LEAD
Tulane has done a tremendous job this season of getting out front and staying there. The team is a perfect 7-0 when it leads games with five minutes left, 6-0 when it leads after the third quarter, 5-0 when it leads at halftime and 4-0 when it leads after the first quarter.

BLOCK PARTY
The Green Wave had one of the best blocking days in program history on December 4, blocking 11 Nicholls shots. That number ties for seventh all-time in program history. Senior Harlyn Wyatt – who is now tied for ninth all-time in team history with 85 blocks – had a career-high six in the game, a number that tied her for ninth all-time in a single game at Tulane. The Green Wave then followed that performance with six blocks at Alabama on December 8. The team now ranks 81st in the nation with 4.0 blocks per game.

CAREER NUMBERS WATCH
Coming up soon:

Erin Gutierrez is 1 point shy of 50.
Krystal Freeman needs four more rebounds for 100.
Harlyn Wyatt will reach 500 rebounds with 14 more.

NEXT UP
Up next for the Green Wave will be a matchup with one team from the other game of the Tulane classic. A win against Old Dominion will pit the Green Wave against the Texas State/Saint Mary's winner on Saturday at 2 p.m. A loss means the Green Wave will take on the Bobcats/Gaels loser Saturday at noon.

Women's Hoops Set to Host Tulane Classic for 23rd Straight Year

Players Mentioned

Sierra Cheatham

Krystal Freeman

Erin Gutierrez

Mia Heide

Harlyn Wyatt

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Tulane University Athletics

Women's Hoops Set to Host Tulane Classic for 23rd Straight Year

Players Mentioned

Sierra Cheatham

Krystal Freeman

Erin Gutierrez

Mia Heide

Harlyn Wyatt

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