NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — After missing the last five games with an injury, Kyren Whittington made her return to the court and led Tulane’s women’s basketball team (8-11, 1-7 AAC) with 14 points in the program’s 68-50 home loss to Temple (11-9, 5-3 AAC) on Sunday at Devlin Fieldhouse.
Whittington played efficient basketball in shooting 6-for-7 from the field, while also connecting on both a three and a free throw attempt. She also tallied a pair of assists in just over 21 minutes on the floor. Amira Mabry also reached double figures with 10 points to go along with four rebounds. Hannah Pratt totaled nine points, six rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block. Irina Parau recorded eight point, 12 rebounds and two assists. Joy Madison-Key picked up four points, two rebounds and three assists. Kaylah Rainey also tied for the team lead with three assists plus she had three rebounds, a steal and a made free throw. Marta Galic had four points, four rebounds and an assist.
Temple put a pair of players in double figures and were led in scoring by Demi Washington’s 22 points. Tarriyonna Gary put up 16 points.
Tulane’s largest lead was the first basket of the game in the first minute of action. The game only featured one lead change and three tied scores. The Green Wave shot 33.3 percent from the field (20-for-60), 10 percent from three-point range (2-for-20) and 72.7 percent from the line (8-for-11). The program recorded 41 rebounds, 12 assists, two steals and two blocks.
Temple’s largest lead was 23 points early in the third quarter, 45-22. The Owls shot 40.6 percent from the field (26-for-64), 36.8 percent from three-point range (7-for-19) and 64.3 percent from the free throw line (9-for-14). Temple held the advantage in points off turnovers, 15-6, points in the paint, 30-26, second chance points, 15-12, fast break points, 8-2, and bench points, 22-18.
Temple led after the first quarter 23-13 and extended the advantage to 40-22 at the break. The Green Wave had their best run of the day in the third quarter in outscoring Temple 16-12 to pull to within 14 with 10 minutes to play. The 14-point deficit was as close as Tulane could get in getting outscored, 16-12, in the fourth quarter in what would be a 68-50 loss to the Owls.
Next, Tulane wraps up the homestand and welcomes in Charlotte on Wednesday, Jan. 31, for a 6 p.m. contest at Devlin Fieldhouse.
Notables:
Irina Parau’s 12 rebounds were a season-high and one off her career high (12 rebounds vs. Tougaloo -12/28/22 and UCF – 1/17/23) …The team’s 17 offensive rebounds were a season-high for the program…Amira Mabry has now scored in double figures in five straight games and in seven of her last eight contests…Kyren Whittington has scored in double figures 12 times this season and in six her last seven games…This was Whittington’s first game since Tulsa on Jan. 2, 2024…Tulane’s 10 percent shooting percentage from three-point range was a season low for the program…The loss was the program’s fourth straight, which is a season-long streak for the team….The loss made Tulane 8-8 all-time against Temple…The program has also lost two in a row against the Owls after having won the previous seven games of the series.
{Courtesy: Tulane Athletics}
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