Tulane Falls to Alabama in the Second Round of the WNIT, 81-77

Monday, March 21

6:30 P.M.

Tulane University

21-10,11-5AAC

University of Alabama

19-13,6-10SEC

Alabama

Tulane

Photo by: Parker Waters

Tulane Falls to Alabama in the Second Round of the WNIT, 81-77

Mar 21, 2022 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

NEW ORLEANS – Tulane University women's basketball (21-10, 11-5) came up shy of taking down Alabama (19-13, 6-10) a second time this season falling 81-77 on Monday night in the second round of the WNIT. The Green Wave shot 42.6 percent from the field and knocked down 10 three-pointers, but the difference in the contest came at the free throw line as the Tide made 24 from the charity stripe to just 15 for Tulane.

The loss brought the Wave's season to a close with 21 wins on the year, its most since Tulane won 23 games in the 2015-16 campaign. The Green Wave made its second consecutive WNIT appearance and notched its 20th postseason berth under head coach Lisa Stockton.

Redshirt senior Moon Ursin led all scorers with 26 points on 9-of-17 shooting including 4-of-6 from downtown. Ursin fell just short of her 12th double-double of the season finishing with nine rebounds. Krystal Freeman joined Ursin in double figures for the Green Wave tallying 14 points of her own.

Alabama got off to a hot start taking a 5-0 lead to start the game before the Wave clamped down defensively. Ursin would hit back-to-back three-pointers to get Tulane back in the game. The Tide would try to pull ahead once again midway through the first, but the Wave would hold strong and exit the quarter down by just four.

Tulane chipped away at the deficit early in the second quarter and claimed the lead 22-21 with just under seven minutes to go in the first half. A back-and-forth battle would ensue over the next few minutes before a 7-0 run from the Tide back up by six. The Wave got the final bucket of the half on a layup from Ursin to send Tulane into the locker room trailing 40-36. The Green Wave hit six three-pointers on 50 percent shooting from beyond the arc in the first half.

The Wave came out with the hot hand in the third quarter going on a five-point run to open the scoring and take a 43-40 lead. Alabama would come back to tie it up at 45 apiece, but the Wave responded to reclaim a seven-point advantage with just over three minutes remaining in the quarter thanks to back-to-back three-pointers by Kaila Anderson. Alabama managed to earn four trips to the charity stripe in the final minutes where it would knock down all eight attempts to leave Tulane facing a 59-58 deficit entering the final frame.

The fourth quarter turned into a physical battle as both teams would fight to the finish. Tulane would lead by five with 4:35 left on the clock, but Alabama would go on a 6-1 run to knot it up at 75 with 1:17 left to play. After 5-0 run by the Tide, the Wave cut the deficit to three with just three seconds remaining. Tulane would not get another chance to tie the game after Alabama knocked down one more free throw as the Green Wave's season came to a close with an 81-77 defeat.

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