Lisa Stockton seeking 500th Tulane win Tuesday vs. Nicholls

Tulane tips off with the Colonels at 7 p.m.

NEW ORLEANS – It’s back to work Tuesday night for the Green Wave women’s basketball team. Tulane will face in-state rival Nicholls with Coach Lisa Stockton seeking her 500th victory at Tulane.

Tipoff against the Colonels is set for 7 p.m. The game will also be the team’s De-Stress Fest with free coffee and donuts available for the first 150 students. Puppies will be available to pet and play with for all fans.

STARTING FIVE
1. Tulane is now 6-1 on the season after a double-digit victory over local rival Southern Miss on Saturday. Tulane is 6-1 for the 14th time in program history and the first time since 2014-15.
2. Coach Lisa Stockton is now one victory away from 500 in her Tulane career. She is currently celebrating her 25th season at Tulane.
3. Everyone contributed to the victory on Saturday with 10 players seeing game action and all 10 of them scoring at least 4 points. Eight players on the Green Wave roster are averaging at least 4.0 points per game this year.
4. Krystal Freeman earned another weekly honor from The American on Monday when she was named to the league’s Honor Roll for the second consecutive week. She is leading the team with 14.1 points per game and has scored in double figures in all but one game this year.
5. Tulane freshmen and sophomores have combined for 68 percent of Green Wave scoring, 65 percent of Tulane minutes and 72 percent of Tulane’s assists. Tulane’s underclassmen have also contributed 57 percent of the team rebounding.
SERIES HISTORY – NICHOLLS
• Tulane’s series with Nicholls is one of the richest in program history. The Green Wave hold a large 30-12 lead all-time over the Colonels, but the teams have not played since 2014.
• Tulane has won 14 consecutive games against Nicholls with the Colonels’ last win coming in 1991.
SCOUTING THE COLONELS
• The Colonels, based out of Thibodaux, Louisiana, have a 4-4 record so far in 2018. The team started out 0-4 on the season but have won four consecutive games.
• Nicholls defeated UTEP, Texas Southern, Southern-New Orleans and Mississippi Valley State but lost to Baylor, Auburn, Texas State and Delaware.
• Cassidy Barrios has been on fire offensively this season, averaging 20.8 points per game while also contributing a team-high 10.9 rebounds per game. No other Nicholls player is in double figures for points or rebounds.
• Barrios is a do-it-all kind of player who tops the team in assists with 42, steals with 12 and blocks with seven as well.
A QUARTER CENTURY WITH COACH
Now in her 25th year with the Green Wave women’s basketball program in 2018-19, it’s hard to imagine anyone else at the helm besides Coach Lisa Stockton. Her numbers are staggering: three different conferences, four conference tournament championships, two conference regular-season championships, six All-Americans, 11 NCAA Tournament berths, seven WNIT spots and a boatload of wins. No one in the history of Tulane women’s basketball is even close to Stockton’s career numbers.

STOCKTON NEARS 500
Entering Tuesday’s game against Nicholls, Coach Lisa Stockton has amassed 499 career victories at Tulane. She is just one win shy of 500. Stockton has more than nine times as many wins as the second-winningest coach in program history.

UNDERCLASSMEN OVERPERFORMING
Tulane’s roster is seeing a youth movement so far in 2018-19 with underclassmen getting a supermajority of minutes played, points scored and assists. Freshmen and sophomores have combined for 68 percent of Green Wave scoring, 65 percent of Tulane minutes and 72 percent of Tulane’s assists. Tulane’s underclassmen have also contributed 57 percent of the team rebounding.

RECEIVING A VOTE
Tulane is in the receiving votes category of the USA Today Coaches Poll for the second consecutive week, picking up a single vote to earn its place in the poll once again. Tulane is in the receiving votes category for consecutive weeks for the first time since Jan. 30-Feb. 6, 2017.

VERY HOT START
The Green Wave have won six of their first seven games for the first time since 2014-15. Tulane has gotten off to a 6-1 start just 14 times in program history in 44 years.

DOMINANT FIRST HALF
Tulane all but ended its game against Southern Miss on Saturday in the first half when it outscored the Golden Eagles 40-18. Tulane went on a 19-2 run at one point in the second quarter, and Southern Miss could not respond. At halftime of that game, Tulane had outscored its opponents 178-93 over the previous eight quarters.

SPREADING THE BALL AROUND
Ten different players saw action for Tulane in the win over Southern Miss, and all 10 of them scored at least 4 points. Sierra Cheatham and Krystal Freeman each reached double figures in scoring, but five other Green Wave players had at least 5 points. On the 2017-18 roster, only six players averaged at least 4.0 points per game. This season so far, eight players are averaging at least 4.0 points per game.

IT’S AN HONOR – AGAIN
For the second consecutive week, Tulane forward Krystal Freeman was recognized by The American when it placed her on its Honor Roll once again. Freeman had a tremendous week for Tulane, scoring in double figures in wins over FAU and Southern Miss while leading Tulane in rebounding both games. Freeman is leading Tulane with 14.1 points per game this year and also has a team-high 5.7 rebounds per game.

CHEATHAM SINKING BUCKETS
With four games scoring in double figures this year, sophomore Sierra Cheatham is second on the team only to Krystal Freeman and her six double-digit games. After scoring 15 Cleveland State on November 23, she tallied her fourth double-figure game of the year when she led Tulane with 13 against Southern Miss on Saturday. She is now second on the roster with 11.6 points per game.

CAREER NUMBERS WATCH
Against Southern Miss:
• Kaila Anderson earned her 100th assist.
• Dynah Jones scored her 50th point.
Coming up soon:
• Sierra Cheatham will reach 250 career points with 13 more.
• Erin Gutierrez is 7 points shy of 50.
NEXT UP
With its three-game homestand concluded, Tulane will head over to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, for a date with the Crimson Tide this weekend. The Green Wave and Alabama are set to tip off at 2 p.m. at Coleman Coliseum.