Tulane Women's Basketball Steps Back Into League Play at ECU
Dec 21, 2020 | Women's Basketball
| When: | Tuesday, Dec. 22 | 11 a.m. |
| Where: | Greenville, N.C. - Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum |
| Watch: | ESPN+ |
| Radio: | WRBH 88.3 FM | Listen Online |
| Notes: | Tulane | ECU |
| Live Stats: | Live Stats |
| Social: | @GreenWaveWBB |
NEW ORLEANS – The Tulane women's basketball team (3-2) returns to the hardwood on Tuesday as it heads to ECU to take on the Pirates. Tip-off is set for 11 a.m. at Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum. The game will be aired live on ESPN+.
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 15.5 points per game. Last week against Southeastern, Freeman posted career highs with 25 points and rebounds 17 rebounds.
2. Senior Arsula Clark earned Preseason Second Team All-AAC. She currently ranks third on the team in scoring averaging 12.2 points per game.
3. Freshman Jerkaila Jordan leads the team in scoring 15.7 points per game.
4. Jordan has made a splash early in her collegiate career. She has been honored by the AAC in three of the last four weeks. Last wee she was named Player of the Week. She has led the Green Wave in scoring five of the six games this season.
5. Jordan entered the week ranked in the top 10 in the American Athletic Conference in scoring (15.7), field goal percentage (.418), assists (3.5) and free throw percentage (.690). She all freshman in The American and ranks 14th nationally among first-year players.
• The Green Wave and the Pirates have met 26 times in program history with Tulane holding a 18-6 edge.
• The Green Wave fell in the last meeting between the two teams, falling 53-50 back on Feb. 29, 2020.
• Tulane head coach Lisa Stockton holds an 18-7 all-time record against East Carolina in her career at Tulane.
• ECU will be shooting for its third straight win over Tulane. The Pirates have never defeated Tulane in three straight games.
SCOUTING THE ECU
• ECU enters Tuesday afternoon's matchup in the hopes of keeping its three-game winning streak in tact.
• The Pirates are coming off a 74-67 win at Cincinnati Sunday.
• Lashonda Monk, a preseason All-AAC First-Team selection, exploded for a career-high 32 points as well as tallying six rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocks.
• The Pirates feature four players that are averaging double figures in the scoring column in Monk (16.0), Sierra DaCosta (10.6), Taniyah Thompson (10.3) and Maddie Moore (10.0).
• The Pirates currently lead the AAC in both steals per game and turnover margin while also ranking eighth nationally in steals and steals per game as well as 12th in turnovers forced per game and 18th in turnover margin.
• ECU head coach Kim McNeill is in her second season on the bench for the Pirates and has posted a 13-24 mark since arriving in Greenville.
CARDIAC WAVE
• The Olive and Blue have had 27 of their last 36 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.
AMONG THE LEAGUE LEADERS
• Tulane ranks among the league's top five in 17 different statistical categories.
• The Green Wave rank third in scoring (71.5) and fourth in scoring defense (61.5).
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 Kolby Morgan as graduates of John Curtis to play at Tulane.
FRESHMAN LEADS THE WAY
• Freshman Jerkaila Jordan currently leads the Green Wave with 15.7 points per game, 94 total points, and six blocked shots.
• Jordan leads The American in points per game and ranks 14th nationally among freshman .
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.
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.
• The Green Wave held Southeastern seven points in the fourth quarter against Southeastern.
UP NEXT
The Green Wave returns home on Dec. 30 to take on Temple. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. and will be aired on ESPN+.
Download the official mobile app of Tulane Athletics. Now, you can stay in touch with the Green Wave anytime and anywhere on your Android or iOS mobile device.
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