Tulane women clamp down on Central Arkansas, 65-38

NEW ORLEANS – The Tulane University women’s basketball team defeated Central Arkansas (UCA), 65-38, on Friday at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in Devlin Fieldhouse.

Tulane (3-2) outshot UCA (1-3) .431-.264 from the field and .333-.176 from three. The Green Wave logged 14 assists and 11 steals, while grabbing 42 rebounds. The Sugar Bears’ 38 points were the fewest points scored by a Tulane opponent since Florida A&M logged 32 on Dec. 30, 2018. The Green Wave forced 17 UCA turnovers. The Olive and Blue logged 28 points in the paint, 24 bench points, 15 fast break points and 10 second chance points.

“Overall I think it was a great team effort,” Green Wave head coach Lisa Stockton said. “It was a great opportunity to get a lot of people some playing time and try some different things. I definitely think we came out very focused and did a really nice job of executing the game plan. Those games are tough because we are putting people in and out, but defensively we did a great job. It was good to see that we rebounded very well.”

Junior Arsula Clark led the Green Wave with her second straight double-double as she recorded 13 points and 10 rebounds. Clark and junior Kaila Anderson led the team with three assists a piece. Junior Krystal Freeman added 11 points and four rebounds for the Olive and Blue.

After buckets from both teams, Tulane went on a 16-5 run to close the first quarter and take a 18-7 lead into the second. The Green Wave held the Sugar Bears to 27.3 percent shooting in the first quarter, while the Olive and Blue made 55.6 percent of their shots.

In the second quarter, the two teams traded buckets until Tulane went on a 13-2 run to take a 33-13 lead into the half. The Green Wave held UCA to 17.2 percent shooting from the field in the first half. Tulane shot 47.6 percent from the field, while adding 12 points in the paint and nine fast break points before the break. The 13 first half points scored by the Sugar Bears marked the fewest points scored by a Tulane opponent in the first half since Florida A&M scored 11 on Dec. 30, 2018.

Junior Arsula Clark recorded a double-double in the first half with 11 points and 10 rebounds. She led the team in both categories at the break. Freeman added seven points and junior Sierra Cheatham logged four rebounds in the first two periods.

The Green Wave held the lead in the second half outscoring the Sugar Bears 14-12 in the third quarter and 18-13 in the fourth. Sophomore Dynah Jones scored nine of her 11 points in the second half. Sophomore Mia Heide grabbed eight rebounds for the Green Wave. The 1,307 people in attendance marked the biggest crowd the Tulane has had all season.

“Their energy was out of this world,” Jones said. “We fed off of their energy today. I’m happy they came.”

This game was labeled as education day and more than 900 students from the New Orleans community had the opportunity to watch the game.

“I love having kids from this community on this campus,” Stockton said. “I think there are so many kids in this community that don’t come to Tulane’s campus. Having them here and seeing these young ladies play and how beautiful the campus is, I think Tulane will mean something to them. I think as many of the local community we can have in here the better.”

Up next, the Green Wave will welcome Alabama to Fogelman in Devlin on Sunday, Nov. 24. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.

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.