NEW ORLEANS – The bid for a come-from-behind victory for Tulane University Women’s Basketball (10-5, 0-2) came up shy in the fourth quarter against American Athletic Conference foe Houston (5-10, 2-0) on Thursday as the Wave lost 56-59 inside Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.
The Green Wave won the rebounding battle and outscored the Cougars in the paint, but a tough shooting performance from the free throw line and costly turnovers proved to be the difference in the contest.
Kyren Whittington led all scorers in the game with 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting to go with six rebounds and a pair of steals. Anijah Grant also finished in double figures posting 10 points along with eight rebounds. Dynah Jones tallied eight points and swiped a career-best seven steals.
The Cougars were led by Tiara Young with 19 points and nine rebounds. Britney Onyeje and Tatyana Hill each scored 14 points as well.
It was a physical contest throughout and the physicality began from the opening quarter as the Wave and the Cougars contested every shot. Both teams forced seven turnovers in the first frame, but it was Tulane that held the advantage at end of 10 minutes of play 13-11.
The mistakes carried over into the second quarter for the Green Wave with eight more turnovers. Houston managed to establish some rhythm on the other end of the floor as Tulane would hit the locker room trailing 23-30 at the break.
The Tulane deficit extended to as many as 12 points in the third quarter before the Green Wave mounted a 10-2 run to pull within four with under three minutes on the clock. Houston answered with a scoring run of its own and the Wave faced a 39-46 deficit heading into the fourth quarter.
The Green Wave did not go down without a fight as it rallied for a 12-2 run after the Cougars had reached their biggest lead of the night at 40-53. Jones made it a two-point game with a step back three-point basket with nine seconds remaining. After a Houston free throw made it a three-point game, the Wave was unable to get a game-tying shot to fall in the closing seconds losing by a final score of 56-59.
Up next, the Green Wave travels to Greenville, North Carolina, for its first road AAC contest against East Carolina on Sunday. Tipoff between Tulane and the Pirates is set for 1 p.m. CT.
{Courtesy: release from Tulane Athletics}
