Photo by Art Boone Jr
Fort Worth, Texas – Kyren Whittington was simply the best player on the floor in leading the No. 14 seed Tulane’s women’s basketball team (11-19) to a 68-62 victory over No. 11 seed SMU (14-16) in the First Round of the American Athletic Conference’s Tournament on Saturday night at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth. Whittington scored a game-high 28 points for the Green Wave in the win. The victory snapped the program’s eight-game losing streak coming into the tournament.
Photo by Art Boone Jr
Whittington took over the game in scoring her 28 points including 17 points in the pivotal third quarter. She shot 10-for-15 from the field, 4-for-7 from three-point range and 4-for-6 from the line. Whittington also totaled four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Amira Mabry. chipped in with 16 points, three rebounds and an assist. Irina Parau totaled 11 points, six rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block. Marta Galic recorded 11 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals. kaylah Rainey chipped in with a basket, four rebounds, five assists and three steals. Hannah Pratt totaled a rebound, an assist, and a steal.
SMU put three players in double figures and were led by 17 points from Tiara Young.
Photo by Art Boone Jr
The game only featured one lead change and three tied scores as SMU led for the entire first half and part of the third quarter until Tulane took the lead for good on a pair of free throws from Whittington with 3:45 remaining in the third quarter. Tulane shot 45 percent from the field (27-for-60), 33.3 percent from three-point range (9-for-27) and 55.9 percent from the free throw line (5-for-9). The Green Wave totaled 28 rebounds, 17 assists, 10 steals and three blocks. The team led 19-17 in points off turnovers, 9-5 in second chance points and 9-4 in fast break points. Tulane’s largest lead was 15 points in the fourth quarter.
SMU shot 49.1 percent from the field (27-for-55), 30.8 percent from three-point range and 66.7 from the free throw line (4-for-6). The Mustangs had 35 rebounds, 15 assists, four steals and three blocks.
Photo by Art Boone Jr
After falling behind 11-2 to start the game, Tulane rallied to get to within five at the end of the first quarter, 15-10. The second quarter saw the Mustangs outscore Tulane 17-13 to take a 32-23 lead into the break. Tulane fought all the way back and took the lead in the third quarter, 51-45, in outscoring SMU 28-17. The Green Wave played SMU to stalemate in the fourth quarter as both teams scored 17 points to help earn a thrilling 68-62 victory.
With the win, Tulane now advances to the Second Round of the AAC Tournament and takes on Charlotte on Sunday, March 10, at 8 p.m. at Dickies Arena.