Tulane falls short against Colorado, 62-52

NEW ORLEANS – The Tulane University women’s basketball team fell to Colorado, 62-52, at Avron B. Fogelman in the Devlin Fieldhouse in the Tulane Classic.

“We just didn’t make shots,” Green Wave head coach Lisa Stockton said. “I still think defensively we did a pretty good job for the game. They came out and were killing us on the boards, I thought we righted that ship a little bit. I thought we played much better today. We were physical and I thought we did some great things. We had some great shots in that fourth quarter, they just didn’t fall. Sometimes when things go bad, they all go bad. I thought our team competed today. I was really proud of our effort.”

Tulane (4-8) logged 26 rebounds, 14 assists and seven blocks, while Colorado (11-0) registered 43 rebounds, 14 assists and four blocks. The Green Wave held Colorado to 16.7 percent shooting from three, which marked the fourth time this season a Tulane opponent has shot less than 20 percent from behind the arc. Junior Krystal Freeman led the Green Wave with 18 points and five rebounds, while freshman Irina Parau added 12 points. Junior Kaila Anderson added a team-high four assists.

The Green Wave and the Buffaloes traded blows to start the first quarter then Colorado closed the period on a 10-0 run to take a 24-15 lead. Freeman and Parau combined for 11 of the 15 points for Tulane in the first.

After trading buckets to start the second quarter, the Olive and Blue went on an 11-2 run to tie the game at 29 with five minutes left in the half. Senior Kayla Manuirirangi and Freeman led the charge scoring all 11 points on the run for the Green Wave. Manuirirangi added eight points for the Green Wave on the day. The score was tied at 33 going into halftime.

Tulane shot 42.3 (11-26) percent from the field and 41.2 (7-17) percent from three in the first half. The Olive and Blue logged assists on all 11 made baskets in the first half. Colorado made 41.2 (14-34) percent from the field and 16.7 (1-6) percent from three with six assists in the opening half.

Colorado took a 43-40 lead with three minutes left in the third quarter then Tulane went on an 8-2 run to close the period to take a 48-45 lead going into the fourth quarter. The Buffaloes closed the game on a 17-4 run to win the game 62-52.

Peanut Tuitele led the Buffaloes with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Aubrey Knight added 16 points and eight rebounds for Colorado.

Freeman and Parau were named to the all-tournament team along with Katelynn Thomas from UAB, Ciani Cryor from Texas Southern and Peanut Tuitele from Colorado. Colorado’s Aubrey Knight was named Most Valuable Player of the 24th Annual Tulane Classic.

Up next, The Green Wave will take a break for the holidays and return to action on Monday, Dec. 30 against Georgia Southern. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Fogelman in Devlin.