WBB Advances to Championship Game of Tulane Classic

This evening the Tulane Women’s Basketball team will play in the championship game of the Tulane Classic Tournament against St. Louis here in New Orleans. The game starts at 5PM (after the 3pM consolation game) and our broadcast will preempt the following daytime programs:

*The Wall Street Journal
*The Weekly Magazine Replay of The Week
*Best Seller Non-Fiction Book: THE LIFE-CHANGING MAGIC OF TIDYING UP
*And possibly, Great Literature Book: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

We apologize for the inconvenience, but all programs missed will be replayed tomorrow at their regular time. Until then, we hope you’ll enjoy cheering on the women’s basketball team. Roll Green Wave!

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NEW ORLEANS – On the 20^th year of the Tulane Classic, presented by Embassy Suites, the Green Wave women’s basketball team (8-3) booked their ticket to the championship game with a 74-53 victory over UNCG (5-7) on Sunday. In order to claim their 16^th overall Tulane Classic title, the Wave will have to go through Saint Louis (9-1), who defeated Cleveland State (3-6), 76-65. Monday’s championship bout will tip off at 5 p.m. CT, following the conclusion of the consolation game, which begins at 3 p.m.

“Certainly, overall, I thought we had a good performance,” Tulane women’s basketball head coach Lisa Stockton stated. “Once again, we shot the ball pretty well, and it was good to see us outrebound them. One of our goals was to cut down on our turnovers, which we did. We also wanted to achieve 27 transition points, which we got too.”

The Tulane quartet of Kolby Morgan, Leslie Vorpahl, Chinwe Duruand Taylor Emery ignited the Wave’s offensive flurry, combining for 30 of the team’s 36 first half points. All four finished the game with double digit points, led by Duru’s season high of 16 points on a 6-for-8 shooting night.

Morgan finished with 13 points, two assists and a career high six steals, while Emery registered her second best offensive showing on the year with 12 points on 4-for-8 shooting. Meanwhile, Vorpahl collected her second double-double on the season with 11 points and a career high tying 10 assists. The junior once again flirted with the triple-double, reeling in seven rebounds as well.

“I was just trying to get the game to come to me,” Vorpahl explained. “Their press kind of baits you to take quick shots, so it was just realizing to slow it down and to run some plays and let it come to you. They were overplaying a lot so half of my assists came on back door cuts.”

The Spartans kept the game close until the 7:58 mark in the second quarter, when they were only down four points, at 20-16. Next, the Green Wave produced a 16-3 run to end the period, building a 36-19 halftime lead. Thus, the Wave defense nearly kept the Spartans off the board for the final eight minutes, while also forcing six turnovers in the quarter. Tulane connected on 7-of-15 from the floor that period compared to UNCG’s 3-of-16.

Duru, Morgan and Vorpahl increased Tulane’s lead to 18 points at 42-24, just a few minutes into the third quarter. Then, the two sides proceeded to trade baskets back-and-forth until the final buzzer rang, handing Tulane its fifth straight win.

The Wave defense continued to shine this week, earning their second straight game with 23 forced turnovers, tying its season high from Friday. Tulane also achieved 23 points off of said turnovers while also recording 40 points in the paint tonight. The Olive and Blue also won the battle on the boards, outrebounding the Spartans, 40-32.

Tickets remain the same for Monday’s final round of the Tulane Classic, presented by Embassy Suites, with prices being $5 for end court and $10 for side court. Reminder that your ticket is good for both games that day. For ticket information, fans can call (504) 861-WAVE (9283). As always, be sure to follow Tulane women’s basketball on Twitter: @GreenWaveWBB.

“Saint Louis is a well-coached team,” Stockton said on Monday’s matchup. “Their defense is so solid. They got people on the floor that can shoot the three so they’ll spread you out. They’re 9-1 for a reason. For us, it will be a quick adjustment, for they are much different team than the one we just played.” (Via Tulane Greenwave.com)