Tulane Falls to Houston in AAC Championship Quarterfinals

Tuesday, March 8

Fort Worth, Texas

8:00 p.m.

Tulane University

20-9,11-5AAC

University of Houston

16-14,7-9AAC

Houston

Tulane

Tulane Falls to Houston in AAC Championship Quarterfinals

Mar 8, 2022 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

FORT WORTH, Texas – The No. 3 seed Tulane women's basketball (20-9, 11-5) dropped its first matchup in the 2022 AAC Championship Tournament as it fell to the No. 6 seed Houston Cougars (16-14, 7-9) 65-57 Tuesday night. The Green Wave did all it could to battle out of an early hole, but despite pulling within two points in the final quarter the Wave's comeback bid came up short.

Redshirt seniors Krystal Freeman and Moon Ursin both finished in double figures to lead the Tulane offensive attack. Freeman posted 13 points and seven rebounds while Ursin followed with 12 points and eight boards. Redshirt juniors Dynah Jones and Mia Heide contributed eight points apiece on the night for the Green Wave as well.

The Green Wave won the battle inside outrebounding the Cougars 42-39 and outscoring Houston in the paint 24-18. Transition scoring also fell in favor of the Wave 19-11, but the difference in the contest came at the charity stripe as Houston shot 18-of-30 at the line while Tulane hit 10-of-12 from the free throw line.

Tulane could not find its rhythm during the first quarter as Houston jumped on the Wave scoring the first 11 points of the contest. The Green Wave fell behind 15-2 before beginning to show life on both end of the floor in the final four minutes of the frame. Tulane finished the quarter with a moderate 6-4 run to hit the bench trailing 19-8.

The offense began to click for the Green Wave in the second frame as the pace picked up on the court and Tulane took advantage of transition to shoot 53.3 percent during the quarter. After the Cougars pushed their lead 13 with 7:30 on the clock, the Wave mounted an 8-0 run over the next three minutes to make the deficit 24-19. Tulane got the final two buckets of the half in the final minute from Clark and Freeman before hitting the locker room trailing 30-27.

The offense went quiet again for the Wave in the third quarter as Tulane connected at just a 25.0 percent clip from the field. On the other end of the floor, Houston continued to flow offensively mounting a 12-0 run over a four-minute stretch in the frame. After a Tulane timeout, the Green Wave closed with an 8-2 run with Ursin pouring in the final five points to make it a 48-38 game heading to the final quarter.

Tulane carried the fight into the fourth quarter steadily chipping away at the deficit. Sierra Cheatham pulled the Wave within two points at 53-51 with a crucial three-pointer from the right wing in transition with 4:57 to play. The Cougars began finding their way back to the free throw line down the stretch as the deficit started to grow again for Tulane. The Green Wave was within five points with 1:47 left but could not pull of the comeback dropping the contest 65-57.

Up next, the Green Wave will await its fate for the postseason with a bid to the Women's National Invitation Tournament on the line.

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