Tulane drops close one with LSU, 59-54

NEW ORLEANS – The Tulane University women’s basketball team fell to LSU, 58-54, at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in Devlin Fieldhouse.

Tulane (2-2) hit a season-high nine 3-point shots and shot 39.2 percent from the field, but LSU (3-1) capitalized on 21 turnovers and scored 30 points from the paint and 18 from the free throw line to sneak past the Green Wave on Sunday night.

“I’m really disappointed just in some of the details tonight,” Green Wave head coach Lisa Stockton said. “We know they’re big and they can rebound really well, but when you look at the rebounding totals plus-four is not significant. It’s the points off turnovers that are huge. We shot a decent percentage, but we turned the ball over so much. The other thing is free throws. They scored 18 points off free throws and 26 points off turnovers. You cannot beat anybody when you’re giving up those two stats. I think we’ve got to be built differently. We’re going to have to get more steals if we’re going to turn the ball over like we are. I definitely believe that has really cost us the last two games and I think it’s something we’ve got to address.”

Junior Arsula Clark posted a double-double for Tulane racking up 17 points and a season-high 11 rebounds. Junior Krystal Freeman added 10 points and five rebounds, while junior Sierra Cheatham chipped in with 11 points and two blocks.

The two teams went back-and-forth in the first quarter, with LSU riding a 13-6 rebounding advantage to a 16-14 lead.

In the second quarter, Tulane flipped the script. The Green Wave outrebounded LSU 13-4 and started the period on a 17-0 scoring run. The Tigers finally scored with just over a minute left in the half, but not before Tulane had built a 13-point lead. The Green Wave allowed a season-low two points in the quarter, holding the Tigers to 1-9 shooting and forcing four turnovers.

Krystal Freeman paced the offense in the first half with 10 points, including a career-high two 3-pointers.

Tulane came out leading 31-18 after the halftime break, but LSU produced a rally of their own to cut the lead to three by the end of the third period. LSU outscored the Green Wave 24-16 in the fourth period to pull ahead in the closing moments.

Faustine Aifuwa led LSU with 18 points and six rebounds, while Ayana Mitchell posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Up next, the Green Wave will host Central Arkansas on Friday, Nov. 22. Tip-off is set for 12 p.m. at Fogelman in Devlin. This will be Tulane’s education day.

TICKETS
Tickets for the 2019-20 season can be purchased by calling 504-861-WAVE (9283), logging on to TulaneTix.com or visiting the ticket office at the James W. Wilson Jr. Center.