Tulane dominates start to finish in win over Tulsa

NEW ORLEANS – The Tulane women’s basketball team had a dominant offensive and defense effort on Sunday afternoon, getting ahead early and never looking back in a 70-39 victory over Tulsa at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.

The victory completed a season sweep of Tulsa (8-12, 2-5 American Athletic Conference) with Tulane (10-9, 2-4) previously defeating the Golden Hurricane in their building on January 3.

Tatyana Lofton had a career-high 13 points, made a career-best five field goals on just eight shots and was one shy of a career high with eight rebounds in a career-high 27 minutes.

Kolby Morgan was Tulane’s highest scorer, putting up 17 points. She also had seven rebounds and four assists, recording her 600th career rebound in the process. Harlyn Wyatt was Tulane’s top rebounder, bringing down nine boards. And Kayla Manuirirangi had the most assists on the team with six.

As a team, Tulane held Tulsa to just 4 points in the first quarter as it built a lead, and the Golden Hurricane shot just 22.6 percent from the field. That shooting percentage was the lowest allowed by Tulane in a league game since it joined the AAC in 2014. Tulane, meanwhile, had 20 assists, shot 47.3 percent and outrebounded Tulsa 46-34. Tulane had a sizeable advantage down low as well, scoring 36 points in the paint to Tulsa’s 18, and the Green Wave recorded 12 second-chance points off 13 offensive rebounds.

The Green Wave’s defense was on fire from the start, allowing just 4 points in the first quarter from Tulsa. The Hurricane shot 2 of 17 in the first 10 minutes, and Tulane went on a 10-0 run after the game was tied at 4-4 to take a 14-4 lead into the second quarter. Those 4 points from Tulsa tied for the fewest points a Tulane opponent has scored in a quarter this year.

Tulane’s lead only grew in the second quarter, mostly in the final few minutes. Tulsa was within 9 points at 25-16 with 4:25 to play, but Tulane closed the quarter on a 12-0 run including 3-pointers by Morgan and Cruickshank. That gave Tulane a 37-16 lead at the break with Morgan contributing a team-high 12 points and Lofton already at a career-high 10.

The lead only grew in the second half with Tulane keeping Tulsa to just 9 points in the fourth quarter while shooting 7 of 13 from the field. All but one player on the roster scored in the game, and all 12 players had at least one rebound.

Tulane concludes a two-game homestand on Wednesday when East Carolina makes a trip to New Orleans. The Green Wave and Pirates will tip off at 7 p.m. at Fogelman in Devlin.