Tulane Welcomes In-State Rival Southeastern on Saturday
Dec 18, 2020 | Women's Basketball
| When: | Saturday, Dec. 19 | 5 p.m. |
| Where: | New Orleans - Fogelman in Devlin |
| Watch: | ESPN+ |
| Radio: | WRBH 88.3 FM | Listen Online |
| Notes: | Tulane | Southeastern |
| Live Stats: | Stat Broadcast |
| Social: | @GreenWaveWBB |
NEW ORLEANS – The Tulane women's basketball team (3-2) return home to take on Southeastern on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. in the Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.
STARTING FIVE
1. Senior Krystal Freeman earned Second Team All-American Athletic Conference honors last season. She was named preseason first team in the conference as an unanimous selection headed into the 2020-21 season. She currently ranks second on the team, averaging 13.6 points per game.
2. Senior Arsula Clark earned Preseason Second Team All-AAC after averaging 12.7 points, 4.9 rebound and 2.7 assists last season.
3. Freshman Jerkaila Jordan leads all freshman averaging 17.8 points, 6.4 boards, 3.4 assists and 1.0 blocks per game.
4. Jordan has made a splash early in her collegiate career. She has been honored by the AAC in each of the last three weeks, including this week, as she was named Player of the Week. She has led the Green Wave in scoring four of the five games this season.
5. Jordan entered the week ranked in the top 10 in the American Athletic Conference in scoring (19.3), rebounding (6.8), field goal percentage (.435), free throw percentage (.739) and blocked shots (1.3). She is fourth among freshman in the NCAA in scoring.
SERIES HISTORY – SOUTHEASTERN
• The Green Wave and the Lions have met 20 times in program history with Tulane holding a 14-6 edge.
• The Green Wave took the last meeting between the two teams, 80-52 back on Nov. 19, 2013.
• Tulane head coach Lisa Stockton holds a perfect 5-0 record against Southeastern in her career at Tulane.
SCOUTING THE LIONS
• The Lady Lions return to action for the first time since Nov. 27, after having five games canceled due to COVID-19 protocols.
• Southeastern saw defending Sun Belt Conference champion Troy pull away late for an 81-69 victory over the Lady Lions in the opening game of the 33rd Annual Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic at Southern Miss.
• Cunningham is the leading scorer for a Lady Lion squad and enters the final non-conference contests of 2020-21 with 13.5 points per game.
• Giaratano (12.5 ppg), Bryana Langford (11.5 ppg) and Ducksworth (10.5ppg) are the other top scorers for Southeastern.
• Chrissy Brown (9.5 ppg) rounds out the top five in scoring for the Lady Lions, while also pacing the squad with 6.0 rebounds per game and a 66.7 three-point field goal percentage.
• Cunningham leads the team with 3.5 assists per outing, while Giaratano averages a team-high 2.0 steals per contest.
• Ayla Guzzardo was named the seventh head women's basketball coach in Southeastern Louisiana history on April 3, 2017. Guzzardo took over the helm of the program after spending the 2016-17 season as the lead assistant on the Lady Lion staff.
CARDIAC WAVE
• The Olive and Blue have had 27 of their last 35 games decided by 10 points or less dating back to last season. The Green Wave are 12-15 in those games.
• Within those 27 games, 19 were decided by five points or less. Tulane is 11-8 in games decided by five points or less dating back to last season, including going 2-1 in games that finished with the exact final score of 64-62.
• Although the Wave have played many close games in the last two seasons, Tulane has only played two overtime games in that time. The Olive and Blue beat Tulsa Jan. 8 and fell to Houston Feb. 1 in overtime last season.
• The Green Wave also had a knack for mounting double-digit comebacks last season. Tulane started the trend in the second game of the season as it overcame an 18-point deficit at Washington to take a 64-62 win over the Huskies.
• The Green Wave mounted 17-point comebacks at both Southern Miss and SMU as well.
FREEMAN FROM DEEP
• Senior Krystal Freeman made a big jump from behind the 3-point line last season. In her first two seasons Uptown, Freeman made three total shots behind the arc. The Pineville, La., native upped that number to 39 last season.
FREEMAN JOINS THE 1,000-POINT CLUB
• Senior Krystal Freeman scored the 1,000th point of her career as she connected on a jumper from the wing against UCF in the third quarter of Tuesday's league opener on the road.
• She also returns as the highest percentage shooter from three for the Green Wave at .351. The Pineville, La., native also made the second-most threes among returning players.
• Freeman opened the 2020-21 season going 3-6 from behind the arc against Nicholls. She continued the good shooting from three going 3-8 at South Alabama.
HOMETOWN CONNECTION
• The 2020-21 Tulane roster boasts three graduates of John Curtis Christian. Junior Dynah Jones, sophomore Salma Bates and freshman Jerkaila Jordan all played at John Curtis under Tulane alum Barbara Farris, who now serves as an assistant coach at Stetson University.
• During their time at John Curtis, Jones won two Louisiana State Championships, Bates captured three state titles and Jordan took home four. Jordan was named MVP of all four title games.
• They all join 2018 Kolby Morgan as graduates of John Curtis to play at Tulane.
FRESHMAN LEADS THE WAY
• Freshman Jerkaila Jordan currently leads the Green Wave with 17.8 points per game, 31 field goals made, 89 total points, 19 made free throws and five blocked shots.
• Jordan ranks fifth nationally among freshman in points per game.
RETURNING THE OFFENSE
• Tulane brings back 89.3 percent of its scoring and 95.2 percent of its rebounding from the 2019-20 season. This is the second-highest percentage of any team in the American behind SMU.
• The four seniors (Krystal Freeman, Arsula Clark, Sierra Cheatham and Kaila Anderson) on the roster for the Olive Blue are tied for second with Memphis and Temple for the second-most in the American Athletic Conference. ECU boasts six for the most in the league.
• The Green Wave graduated two seniors last season, Kayla Manuirirangi and Maddison Wells.
• Tulane opened the season with an 88-point outburst. This was the most points the Green Wave have scored since they beat FAU, 88-45, on Nov. 28, 2018.
FREEMAN IS BACK
• Senior Krystal Freeman returns for her senior season after leading the Green Wave in points and rebounds in the past two seasons.
• Freeman scored 15.0 points and grabbed 7.7 rebounds per game last season.
• Last season, the Pineville, La., native ranked sixth in The American in field goal percentage (.454), seventh in 3-point field goal percentage (.351), eighth in scoring (15.0), ninth in rebounding (7.7) and 12th in steals (1.7).
• Freeman opened the season with the 18th double-double of her career as she scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against Nicholls.
• She continued to be one of the top players for the Green Wave, as she logged 19 points, eight rebounds and two steals at South Alabama.
AMBASSADOR CHEATHAM
• Senior Sierra Cheatham was named the Ambassador Award winner by the American Athletic Conference the past two seasons.
• Cheatham is the only person to win the award twice in conference history.
• The award is given annually to the student-athlete who most exemplifies the ideals of sportsmanship on the court – ethical behavior, fair play and integrity – along with community service off the court.
CLARK STEPS UP
• Clark stepped up last season for the Green Wave as a transfer from Louisiana Monroe. She led the team with 84 assists, 129 free throws made and 190 free throws attempted.
• She was second on the team with 12.7 points per game and added 4.9 rebounds.
• The Miami native was named Preseason All-AAC Second team after dropping 20 points, seven assists and five rebounds in the AAC Tournament against Tulsa.
• Clark narrowly missed recording the first triple-double in program history when she logged 18 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in the win over Cincinnati on Jan. 18, 2020.
• She opened her 2020-21 season right where she left off posting 17 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals at South Alabama.
CLARK SCORES 1,000
• Senior Arsula Clark scored the 1,000th point of her career with an and-one against Wichita State on Feb. 16, 2020.
• She spent her first two seasons at Louisiana Monroe, where she scored 711 points. Clark now has 412 points during her time Uptown.
FREEMAN JOINS THE 1,000-POINT CLUB
• Senior Krystal Freeman scored the 1,000th point of her career as she connected on a jumper from the wing against UCF in the third quarter of Tuesday's league opener on the road.
LOUISIANA TALENT
• Freshman Jerkaila Jordan comes to Tulane after winning four straight Louisiana High School State Championships at John Curtis. She was named the MVP of each championship game.
• Jordan was named the Gatorade Player of the Year and Miss Basketball in the state of Louisiana in 2020. She was also the No. 45 recruit in the nation coming out of high school.
• She opened her collegiate career with 17 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals against Nicholls.
• Jordan earned AAC Freshman of the Week honors for her efforts against Nicholls.
• She followed that performance up with 20 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals at South Alabama. The freshman guard shot 2-3 from behind the arc and 4-4 from the charity stripe in Mobile, Ala.
• Jordan is this week's reigning player of the week from the AAC.
SINGLE-DIGIT QUARTERS
• The Olive and Blue have made a point to be strong defensively under coach Stockton. Tulane held LSU to two points in the second quarter on Nov. 17, 2019. The Green Wave also held Temple to four points in the third quarter March 3,2020.
• The Olive and Blue have held opponents to five or fewer points in a quarter 17 times since the NCAA moved to the four quarters format in the 2015-16 season.
• The Green Wave only allowed Georgia Southern to score in double-digits in the third quarter on Dec. 30, 2019.
• Tulane held opponents to single-digits in a quarter 15 times last season.
• The Green Wave picked up right where they left off on the defensive side of the ball and only allowed Nicholls to put up four points in the third quarter in the 2020-21 season opener.
• Tulane held UCF to just eight points in the opening quarter against the Knights.
OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
• Seniors Kaila Anderson and Krystal Freeman and junior Mia Heide were voted the team's captains prior to this season.
STOCKTON THE LEGEND
• Tulane head coach Lisa Stockton has amassed 588 NCAA wins in her 30-year coaching career. This number currently ranks 19th among all active Division I coaches. Stockton has the most wins of any coach in the American Athletic Conference.
WINS AMONG ACTIVE COACHES
1. Tara VanDerveer, Stanford - 1,097
T-17. Mike McLaughlin, Penn - 606
T-17. Kim Maulkey, Baylor - 606
19. Lisa Stockton, Tulane - 588
MORE THAN A QUARTER CENTURY WITH COACH
• Now in her 27th year with the Green Wave women's basketball program in 2020-21 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 525 wins. No one in the history of Tulane women's basketball is even close to Stockton's career numbers.
THREE-POINT DEFENSE
• Green Wave opponents shot 31.4 percent from behind the arc this season. This figure ranked sixth in the AAC.
• The good 3-point defense started the 2019-20 season as Jackson State shot 15.8 percent from behind the arc. This was the lowest 3-point percentage by a Tulane opponent since Memphis shot 11.1 percent on 2/2/2019.
CAREER NUMBERS WATCH
Coming up soon:
• Krystal Freeman is 50 rebounds from 600.
• Sierra Cheatham is 61 points from 700.
• Kaila Anderson is 32 assists from 300.
• Arsula Clark is 45 rebounds from 600.
KEEP IT IN LOUISIANA
• The Green Wave have made it a habit of keeping talent in the state of Louisiana. Tulane currently has six players and four staff members who hail from Louisiana.
• Krystal Freeman, Kaila Anderson, Dynah Jones, Dene' Mimms, Salma Bates and Jerkaila Jordan are all from Louisiana, while Anderson, Jones, Mimms, Bates and Jordan are all from the New Orleans area.
• The staff features four members from the state in Alan Frey, Chandra Dorsey, Olivia Grayson and Janet Butler.
WAVE ON THE REVENGE TOUR
• Even in the shortened COVID-19 season, the Green Wave will face three non-conference teams they fell to in the 2019-20 season.
• Texas Southern, South Alabama and Middle Tennessee State all defeated Tulane last season and appear on the 2020-21 schedule.
• The Green Wave will also face six teams in conference they lost to last season.
• The Green Wave avenged last season's loss to South Alabama with a 77-73 win in Mobile.
UP NEXT
The Green Wave travels to ECU on Dec. 22 to take on the Pirates. Tipoff is set for 11 a.m.
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