Tulane sees conference tournament trip end with loss to USF

USF used a 9-0 fourth-quarter run to pull away for the win

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – The No. 12 Tulane women’s basketball team hung with No. 5 USF all afternoon, but the Bulls used a late 9-0 run to defeat the Green Wave 61-52 in the American Athletic Conference Tournament first round at Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday afternoon.

Tulane (15-15) was within 3 points at 49-46 following a Krystal Freeman jumper with 4:58 remaining, but USF (17-14) scored the game’s next 9 points including a dagger 3-pointer from Enna Pehadzic with 2:04 remaining that put the Bulls ahead 54-46.

Four straight points from Tamara Henshaw followed that 3-pointer to make it a 58-46 USF lead, and Tulane could not make up the difference in the game’s final minute.

“The season has certainly been challenging at times because we’ve been in so many games,” said coach Lisa Stockton. “There were times where I thought our youth this season really hurt us at the end of the game, and I thought it did today. I’m really proud of our kids. I thought our young kids especially really stepped up today and put us in position to win.”

Freeman was Tulane’s top scorer with 16 points and tied with freshman Mia Heide for the team lead with eight rebounds. Freeman was hot from the field all game, finishing 8 of 14 with six of her eight field goals coming on long jump shots rather than layups in the paint.

Dynah Jones had a terrific shooting day as well, finishing 5 of 8 from the field for 14 points. Point guards Kaila Anderson and Erin Gutierrez tied for the team lead with three assists, while Jones and Heide had a team-high two blocks each. Jones and Freeman topped Tulane with two steals. Anderson tied her career high with six rebounds.

The first half was a tight battle with Tulane taking an 8-3 lead early on two baskets each from Freeman and Heide. USF was missing shots, bricking five in the game’s first 2:30 as Tulane built a lead. But the Bulls didn’t stay down for long, going on a 10-0 run midway through the period that helped them take a 17-10 lead into the second quarter.

Dynah Jones got hot to start the second, sinking 9 points in the period’s first five minutes. She needed to heat up, because Pehadzic was doing the same thing on the other end. Pehadzic scored 9 points for her squad in the second, helping the Bulls maintain a 6-point lead with 4:04 left to play in the half.

But Tulane had the final say in the half, scoring 6 consecutive points on two Freeman jumpers and an Anderson buzzer beater to send the game into the break all knotted up at 28-28.

The third quarter see-sawed between the two sides, with the teams trading baskets through the first five minutes. In the first six minutes of the third, neither team got ahead by more than three. USF controlled the final two minutes of the period, though, scoring the final six points to go up 47-39 entering the fourth.

Tulane answered back to start the final quarter with Jones once again contributing in a big way. The freshman sank a layup and hit a free throw right away, and the defense was excellent in keeping the Bulls to just 2 points in the first five minutes of the period. Freeman added two consecutive baskets to slice USF’s lead to just 49-46 with 4:58 to play.

But that’s when the Bulls had its 9-0 run to make it a 58-46 game in a span of four minutes. Tulane missed five consecutive field goal attempts in that span and two free throws as well while USF built its lead back up.

Tulane is now 0-12 all-time against USF since joining the American Athletic Conference in 2014-15.

The contest Friday saw Freeman hit her 200th career field goal.

Friday’s game also saw the likely end to the careers of seniors Tatyana Lofton, Ksenija Madzarevic, Meredith Schulte and Harlyn Wyatt.

If Friday’s game proves to be the final contest of their careers, Lofton finished her two years at Tulane with 289 points, 131 rebounds, 70 assists and 34 steals. Madzarevic racked up 101 points and 73 rebounds in her time with the Green Wave.

Schulte and Wyatt each played 128 career games, putting them ninth all-time in program history in games played. Schulte compiled 585 points, 420 rebounds, 67 assists and 58 steals during her career. Wyatt had 696 points, 571 rebounds, 110 blocks and 57 assists. She ranks eighth in school history with those blocks and eighth in blocks per game as well.