NEW ORLEANS – The Tulane University women’s basketball team (6-1) will aim for its best start since it began the 2018-19 campaign 7-1, as it competes in the Miami Holiday Classic on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 4-5, in Coral Gables, Florida. The Green Wave will face the University of Arkansas – Pine Bluff on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. CT and then matchup with the host school Miami on Sunday for a 1 p.m. CT tipoff.
Fans can watch the Green Wave’s matchup with the Hurricanes live on Sunday on ACCNX by CLICKING HERE. Fans also can listen to both contests this weekend live on the Tulane Sports Network from Learfield on 88.3 WRBH with Gus Kattengell or streaming on the Tulane Athletics App and The Varsity Network App.
This will be the second all-time meeting between Tulane and UAPB. The Green Wave defeated the Lady Lions in their only other matchup 78-54 on Nov. 28, 1987, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Wave and the Canes have faced off four times in program history. The Olive and Blue lead the series 3-1 against Miami including winning the last three meetings between the two programs. In the most recent matchup, Tulane defeated the Canes 70-65 on Dec. 19, 2014, in New Orleans.
This season, head coach Lisa Stockton and her staff welcome back 10 letterwinners, four newcomers and four starters, including All-American Athletic Conference honoree Krystal Freeman who averaged 12.3 points and 7.8 rebounds for the Green Wave last season. Tulane brings back 67.8 percent of its scoring and 82.3 percent of its rebounding from the 2020-21 season.
All five starters are averaging double figures in the scoring column for the Olive and Blue with redshirt senior Moon Ursin leading the team averaging 14.9 and 9.3 rebounds per game. The Destrehan, Louisiana, native has earned American Athletic Conference honors in back-to-back weeks. She was named to the AAC honor roll after averaging a double-double with 13.0 points and 11.0 rebounds during a 2-1 week for the Wave last week. The previous week Ursin was selected as the AAC Player of the Week after she averaged 19.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in wins over TCU and South Alabama for the Green Wave. Dynah Jones follows with 14.0 points per contest while Krystal Freeman is averaging 11.9 points and 7.7 boards. Arsula Clark and Mia Heide round out the top scorers for Tulane posting 10.4 and 10.0 points per game, respectively.
Tulane is coming off a 2-1 week during which it took its first loss of the season 75-58 on the road to LSU before bouncing back with two wins at the Pioneer Thanksgiving Classic in Denver, Colorado, over the weekend. The Green Wave defeated Wyoming 73-67 and Texas A&M – Corpus Christi to be the only 2-0 team in the tournament. Ursin and Heide each earned all-tournament honors for their performances. Ursin averaged 13.0 points and 11.5 boards while Heide posted 14.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in the tournament.
The Green Wave started the 2021-22 campaign 4-0 with wins over Southeastern Louisiana (66-58), Alabama (69-66), TCU (88-78, 2OT) and South Alabama (86-53).
The Lady Lions enter the game 3-3 on the season with wins in its last three contests over Southern Miss, SEMO and Arkansas Baptist. In UAPB’s last outing the Lady Lions dominated Arkansas Baptist 96-27 at home on Monday. Four players scored in double figures for UAPB in the win. Khadijah Brown and Zaay Green lead the Lady Lions averaging 14.8 points per contest so far this season.
Miami enters the weekend 4-3 on the season following an 82-74 loss at No. 8 Maryland on Thursday. Four players posted double digits in the scoring column for the Hurricanes in the defeat. Kelsey Marshall led the team with 24 points and six assists in the contest.
Following the Miami Holiday Classic, the Green Wave will return home to host Troy on Dec. 8 in Avron B. Fogelman inside the Devlin Fieldhouse. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.
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Tickets for the 2021-22 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.
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{Courtesy: release from Tulane athletics}