Women’s Basketball: Smothering defense lifts Tulane over Middle Tennessee

NEW ORLEANS – Following its longest break of the season, the Tulane women’s basketball team looked refreshed and ready to play on Sunday afternoon.

The Green Wave played shutdown defense for 40 minutes, holding Middle Tennessee to just 27 percent shooting in a 62-44 victory over the Blue Raiders at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.

Tulane held MTSU leading scorer Abbey to just 7 points, and Sissom fouled out with five minutes to play. No player on the Blue Raiders roster scored in double figures, the first time Tulane has not allowed a double-digit scorer since March 2015 against Houston.

As a whole, MTSU made a mere 12 of its 44 field goal attempts and got 16 of its 44 points at the free-throw line. MTSU’s 44 points were the second-lowest point total for a Green Wave opponent this year.

After scoring 0 points against the Blue Raiders last season, senior Kolby Morgan led Tulane (6-5) with 19 including a backbreaking fast-break layup after a steal with 6:24 left in the game. That layup, which came with an unsportsmanlike foul on Middle Tennessee (6-4), put Tulane’s lead up to 47-30 and wound up being the contest’s game-winning basket.

Besides Morgan’s 19 points, Kayla Manuirirangi had 12 points and Meredith Schulte had 10. Harlyn Wyatt fouled out late but had 7 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Tene Thompson led Tulane with four steals, and Morgan and Kaila Anderson tied for the team lead with three assists.

Tulane took over the contest for good in the third quarter. With the teams combining for just 5 points in t/he first five minutes of the quarter, the Green Wave’s offense started clicking after the media timeout. Tulane held a 29-26 lead at the media timeout but extended it to 35-26 thanks to a Wyatt free throw, a Morgan and-1 layup and a Schulte jumper. Following two MTSU free throws, Morgan hit a jumper and Schulte knocked down two more midrange shots to give the Green Wave a 12-point lead, its largest of the game.

In the fourth quarter, Tulane’s lead continued to balloon to as many as 22 with a Manuirirangi 3-pointer later. The Blue Raiders made just four total field goals in the second half while Tulane made 13 shots.

The Green Wave came out on fire when the game began, using an 11-0 run early in the game to earn a 16-7 lead after 10 minutes. All five Tulane starters put up points in the first quarter.

But in the second, Middle Tennessee came roaring back. The Blue Raiders went on a big run of their own and would tie the game at 22-22 late in the half. Before the final buzzer sounded, though, Tulane got 5 straight points on a putback layup from Tene Thompson and a 3-pointer by Manuiririangi to go up 27-22 at halftime. Morgan had 10 points at halftime, reaching double figures for the 37th straight game.

Tulane finished with 24 points off 25 MTSU turnovers, utilizing a press to force the Blue Raiders to cough up the ball. The Green Wave also had 12 fast break points and did not give allow one for MTSU.

The Green Wave close out their five-game homestand this week with the 22nd Annual Tulane Classic. Tulane begins its tournament against Troy on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. following the men’s basketball game against South Alabama at noon. The Green Wave will then face either Samford or UTEP on Friday at 1 p.m. or 3 p.m. based on Thursday’s other result.