Tulane Women’s Basketball comes up just short vs. Iowa State in Bahamas

BIMINI, Bahamas – A desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer went off the front of the rim for Tulane as the Green Wave could not complete a late surge in a 67-64 loss against Iowa State at Gateway Christian Academy on Friday afternoon.

Trailing by 7 points with 2:49 to play, Tulane cut Iowa State’s lead down to just 1 point at 65-64 with one second left on the clock thanks to a 3-pointer from Kolby Morgan. But after two Iowa State free throws gave the Cyclones a 3-point lead with just 0.6 seconds left on the clock, Morgan’s off-balance final shot came up just short of sending the first game of the Junkanoo Jam to overtime.

Tulane will play in the Junkanoo Jam consolation game at 3:15 p.m. central Saturday against the loser between Central Michigan and San Diego State.

Point guard Kayla Manuirirangi had a career-high 19 points in a career-high 38 minutes and also led Tulane with six assists. Morgan had 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and Harlyn Wyatt scored 7 points while earning her first double-digit rebounding game of the year with 10.

With a free throw early in the second quarter, Morgan scored her sixth point of the game and reached 1,730 in her career. That moved her up to fifth all-time in scoring in Tulane history, surpassing the 1,729 career points of Barbara Farris, Morgan’s former high school coach at John Curtis Christian.

The teams were tied at halftime at 35-35, but Iowa State surged to a 10-point lead late in the third quarter. In the final two minutes of the period, Manuirirangi scored 4 points while Meredith Schulte and Tene Thompson had 2 apiece to help the Green Wave into the fourth quarter trailing just 53-49.

The Cyclones maintained their lead throughout the fourth quarter but never fully asserted themselves and put Tulane away. A Bridget Carleton jumper with 2:49 to play gave Iowa State a seemingly comfortable 7-point lead at 63-56, but Tulane hung around and nearly forced overtime.

After Carleton’s jumper, freshman Kaila Anderson immediately hit a 3-pointer – one of three for her on the day – to make it a 4-point game. Wyatt then drained a layup to cut Iowa State’s lead to 63-61 with 1:24 left. Iowa State turned the ball over on its next possession, but Wyatt missed two free throws with a chance to tie the game.

With 27 seconds on the clock, the Cyclones made a free-throw to give them a 3-point lead. Manuirirangi had two chances to tie the game, but both of her 3-point shots missed. Following one more Iowa State free throw with four seconds to play, Morgan hit one 3-pointer to give Tulane a chance. But her final attempt on an inbounds play with 0.6 seconds remaining clanged off the front of the rim to end Tulane’s chance at its second consecutive major-conference win.

Thompson would finish the game with 8 points for Tulane while Schulte recorded 4. Thompson had five rebounds and three blocks to lead the Green Wave in that category. During the game, Morgan recorded her 200th career assist and Wyatt grabbed her 100th career offensive rebound. Thompson also scored her 200th career point.

The first half was a highly entertaining affair with both teams hitting 3-pointers early on and lots of up-and-down action on the court. Tulane trailed 18-16 after 10 minutes, and a Manuirirangi buzzer-beater tied the game at 35-35 heading into halftime. Neither team led by more than 5 in the first half.

Iowa State had a large advantage on the boards, bringing down 50 rebounds to Tulane’s 35. After a hot start, neither team shot well in the second half. Tulane finished the game shooting 36.7 percent from the field while Iowa State ended up at 34.8 percent.

Tulane will now play either San Diego State or Central Michigan on Saturday in the Junkanoo Jam’s second game at 3:15 p.m. central.