Tulane takes down Illinois State in first round of WNIT, 75-67

COLLIERVILLE, Tenn. – The Tulane University women’s basketball team defeated Illinois State in the first round of the WNIT, 75-67, Friday night. The Green Wave now move to the second round of the Memphis Regional to play Ole Miss on Saturday.

“I thought defensively we did a much better job in the second half,” Tulane head coach Lisa Stockton said. “We put a little pressure and made their shots a little tougher. They had five threes in the first half and we just felt like they were a team that was tough to beat if they get hot from the three.”

Tulane (18-8) outshot Illinois State (15-8) .556-.364 from the field. The Green Wave logged 32 rebounds and 13 assists on the night. Senior Arsula Clark led the Green Wave with 21 points and five assists. She shot 8-14 from the floor. Freshman JerKaila Jordan added 13 points, two rebounds and two steals, while senior Krystal Freeman grabbed a team-high six rebounds and chipped in 11 points.

“I thought Arsula Clark played really aggressively today,” Stockton said. “She really took it to the basket and got to the free throw line and had five assists. When they doubled her, she did a really nice job of reading it. Defensively, she really stuck with their shooters in the second half and made sure they didn’t hit the three.”
The Red Birds jumped out to a 22-13 lead, but the Green Wave closed the first quarter on a 6-0 run to make it 22-19 headed into the second. After trading buckets, Tulane tied the game at 28 with a jumper from Clark. The Olive and Blue briefly took the lead at 29-28, but Illinois State finished the first half on a 5-0 run to grab a 33-29 lead at the half.

Both teams shot 13-23 from the field in the first half, but the Red Birds were 5-9 from three, while Tulane shot 2-6 from behind the arc. Jordan, Clark and junior Mia Heide all scored six points in the first 20 minutes for the Green Wave.

Tulane opened the second half hot with an 11-0 run to take a 40-33 lead with 5:58 left in the third. Both teams traded buckets the rest of the way with Tulane taking a 52-41 lead into the fourth. Both sides traded blows throughout the fourth with Tulane maintaining a 10-point lead the entire quarter

With the win, Tulane moves on to the second round where it will face Ole Miss on Saturday, March 20, at 8 p.m. in Collierville, Tenn.