Tulane Falls to USF in the Second Round of the AAC Tournament, 64-50

Saturday, March 7

Uncasville, Conn.

11 a.m.

Tulane University

14-17,8-8AAC

USF

19-12,10-6AAC

Tulane

South Fla.

Tulane Falls to USF in the Second Round of the AAC Tournament, 64-50

Mar 7, 2020 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Pierce Feltner

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – The Tulane University women's basketball team fell to USF, 64-50, in the second round of the American Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship at the Mohegan Sun Arena. The loss concludes the 2019-20 season for the Green Wave.

Tulane (14-17) shot 84.2 (16-19) percent from the free throw line, while USF (19-12) was 78.3 (18-23) percent from the line. Tulane logged 26 rebounds and seven steals. The Olive and Blue outscored the Bulls 26-22 in the paint. Junior Arsula Clark led the way for Tulane with 25 points and two steals. Junior Krystal Freeman added 10 points and seven boards.

"I thought, especially in the first half, we really battled," Green Wave head coach Lisa Stockton said. "Our foul trouble was pretty significant going into halftime. We were trying to protect some people. We felt like down three at half was okay. We really battled in the third quarter. We just got to the point where we just didn't make shots."

Tulane jumped out to a 12-4 lead in the first quarter behind two threes from Freeman. USF responded with a 9-0 run to take a 13-12 lead with 2:22 left in the first. The Green Wave were able to take the lead back with a 4-0 run to close the quarter. Tulane was on top, 18-15, going into the second quarter.

After trading baskets to open the second period, the Bulls went on a 7-0 run to take a 25-24 lead with 1:47 left in the first half. Tulane trailed USF 29-26 going into the break.

In the first half, Tulane shot 34.6 (9-26) percent from the field and grabbed 13 rebounds. USF was 38.5 (10-26) percent overall and snagged 21 rebounds. Freeman and Clark led the way for the Olive and Blue with eight points apiece.

Both teams traded runs to open the third quarter until USF went on a 6-0 run to take a 47-38 lead with 3:32 left in the period. The Green Wave fought back to cut the Bulls' lead to 51-45 going into the fourth. The Green Wave were never able to take the lead back in the fourth.

The Green Wave finish the season with a 14-17 record overall and an 8-8 conference mark. Senior Kayla Manuirirangi will leave the program ranked tied for ninth in program history with 157 made threes.

"I've never had a season with so many close games," Stockton said. "We had 15 games where it was four points or less win or lose. We battled all year. I'm proud of our effort from this year's team. I thought we really locked people down defensively. We improved in a lot of areas. I feel really good about what we have going forward. I think we have a really good class coming in. I feel really good about the junior class that will be seniors. We're excited."

Freeman earned Second Team All-Conference for the second straight year, while junior Sierra Cheatham repeated as the conference's Ambassador Award winner. Sophomore Dynah Jones was the first player in program history to be named AAC Sixth Player of the Year.

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