Green Wave women use dominant first quarter to beat MAC favorite Central Michigan

Tulane outscored CMU 21-3 in the first quarter

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – One of the best quarters in program history got the Green Wave off to a tremendous start, and Tulane held on for a 68-57 victory over Central Michigan in the Miami Holiday Classic at the Watsco Center on Saturday afternoon.

The Green Wave (9-3) jumped out to a 21-3 lead at the end of the first quarter over Central Michigan (8-3), who made the NCAA’s Sweet 16 last season. Tulane went on an 18-0 run to close out the first quarter and held the Chippewas to just 6 percent shooting from the field (1-16) in the first 10 minutes.

The game was much more even the rest of the way, with Central Michigan starting to hit its shots as Tulane cooled offensively. But despite the Chippewas outscoring the Green Wave 20-8 in the third quarter, Tulane never lost its lead and earned a big non-conference victory over a team favored to win its conference once again.

Central Michigan entered the game as the No. 7 team in the nation averaging 41.4 percent from downtown, but it made just 6 of 30 on Saturday (20 percent). Tulane held CMU to a mere 57 points total, 21.8 fewer than its season average of 78.8 entering the game.

Krystal Freeman led the way for Tulane with 17 points while Kayla Manuirirangi and Harlyn Wyatt were also in double figures with 16 and 14, respectively. Freeman had her second career double-double with 10 rebounds as well, topping the Green Wave in that category.

Florida-native Erin Gutierrez, who had a large contingent of fans in the building with her hometown being about 30 minutes away, led Tulane with five assists.

The first quarter was a dominant effort from Tulane, one that set the tone for the rest of the game. Central Michigan took a very early 3-2 lead, but it was all Tulane after that.

Sierra Cheatham hit a 3-pointer at that point to give Tulane a 5-3 lead, and the Green Wave would never trail again. Wyatt followed the Cheatham 3-pointer with a layup, and then Tulane got baskets from Freeman and Wyatt to take an 11-3 lead into the media timeout.

After the break, Wyatt hit two free throws, Manuirirangi drained a 3-pointer, Freeman knocked down a layup and Cheatham sank a 3 to close out the period with Tulane leading 21-3. The Chippewas missed 15 consecutive field goals in the final eight minutes of the quarter.

The second quarter was much more even, with Tulane only outscoring Central Michigan 19-17 to take a 20-point lead into halftime. The Green Wave shot 53 percent from the floor in the first half while the Chippewas only shot 23 percent.

In the third, Central Michigan made it a game. Tulane had its turn to be cold from the field, making just 1 of 12 attempts as Central Michigan heated up. The Chippewas cut the Green Wave lead to just 8 at the end of the period.

Then, early in the fourth quarter, Central Michigan got as close as 6. Layups from Freeman and Wyatt as well as a Manuirirangi 3-pointer kept the Chippewas at bay, but the game really changed in Tulane’s favor for good in the final 3 minutes.

After two Micaela Kelly free throws made Tulane’s lead just 6 again, Freeman and Wyatt connected on layups on consecutive Tulane possessions to put the Green Wave ahead 60-50 with 2:18 left. It was free throws the rest of the way for the Tulane, who sank eight of its 10 attempts in the final two minutes as CMU tried for a comeback.

Cheatham ended the game with 8 points while Gutierrez and classmate Dynah Jones had 5. Freeman added three assists to her big scoring day, and Cheatham finished second on the team with five rebounds.

Tulane is right back in action on Sunday at 1 p.m. central when it takes on Florida A&M at the Watsco Center in its final non-conference game of the year.