Wyatt, Lofton set career scoring highs in Tulane loss at Wichita State

WICHITA, Kan. – Harlyn Wyatt set a new career high with 18 points, Tatyana Lofton did the same with 16 points and Kolby Morgan added 14 points as well, but it wasn’t enough for Tulane women’s basketball to overcome a hot-shooting Wichita State in an 81-70 Shockers win at Charles Koch Arena on Saturday afternoon.

The Shockers (13-16, 8-7 American Athletic Conference) led the game by as many as 17 points, but Tulane (12-16, 4-11) managed to cut the deficit to just 6 points at 64-58 with 8:43 remaining.

From there, though, the home team reasserted itself and knocked down field goals and free throws, putting up 17 more points in the last eight minutes to keep the Green Wave at bay. For the game, Wichita State shot 54 percent (31-57) from the field during the game and shot above 45 percent in each quarter.

Tulane struggled to keep Wichita State out of the paint early, as senior forwards Rangie Bessard and Angiee Tompkins had 25 and 24 points, respectively, with 37 of those 49 points coming from 2-point range.

The Green Wave was able to capitalize on Shockers turnovers, with Wichita State coughing up the ball 20 times, but the 22 points Tulane scored off turnovers was unable to put the team over the top.

Besides Tulane’s three double-figure scorers, Caylah Cruickshank and Maddison Wells each finished with 6 points. Wyatt led the team with nine rebounds, just missing out on a double-double, and Sierra Cheatham had a team-high four assists. Morgan, meanwhile, tied her career high with a game-high six steals.

Early in the game, the Green Wave got things going from the 3-point line. The team’s first four field goals were 3-pointers with Lofton hitting two, Morgan knocking down one and Caylah Cruickshank sinking one as well. But with the Shockers taking a 25-14 lead into the second quarter, the Tulane post game picked up.

Wyatt dominated the second quarter, scoring 10 points in that period as Tulane’s post players accounted for 12 of the team’s 17 second-quarter points. During a period spanning the end of the second quarter and start of the third, Wyatt had 12 consecutive Green Wave points on her way to her career-high 18.

The Shockers controlled the early part of the third quarter, and Bessard and Tompkins hit back-to-back 3-pointers to grow the home team’s lead to 54-37 with three minutes to play in the third. But in the final three minutes, Tulane outscored Wichita State by 7 make it a 62-52 game entering the fourth quarter.

A jumper from Lofton and a layup from Maddison Wells got Tulane within 6 points early in the fourth, but that was as close as Tulane would get.

Tulane will close out the regular season with its next game on Monday at 7 p.m. when it takes on SMU. Seniors Kolby Morgan and Caylah Cruickshank will be honored before and after the game as part of Senior Night festivities.