Big Second Half Lifts Tulane Past South Florida, 76-72
TAMPA, Fla. – The Green Wave trio of Tiffany Aidoo, Chassity Brown and Olivia Grayson combined for 50 points and the Green Wave outscored the Bulls by 11 in the second half as the Tulane University women’s basketball team defeated South Florida, 76-72, Thursday evening at the Sun Dome.
Down by seven at halftime, Tulane used a 12-4 run over the first four minutes of the second period to take its first lead of the day at 42-41 and outscored the Bulls 34-31 the rest of the way. The win was the Green Wave’s fourth straight victory as the Green Wave improved to 6-2 on the year. South Florida, meanwhile, saw its six-game winning streak came to an end to fall to 7-2 for the season.
“I’m very proud of the team,” Tulane head coach Lisa Stockton said. “We weren’t shooting the ball very well and they were shooting the lights out (in the first half). The thing that kept us in the game was they had 18 turnovers in the first half. We knew we had to keep that pressure on to really stay in the game. It was good that the team found a way to win. We hit some free throws down the stretch and did some nice things down the stretch that really helped us.”
Playing without junior forward Brittany Lindsey, who missed her second straight game with a shoulder injury, the Green Wave used a four-guard lineup, forced 27 turnovers and turned the giveaways into 37 points. Brown led the team with 19 points while Aidoo and Grayson followed with 16 and 15, respectively. Freshman Janique Kautsky came off the bench to score a career-best eight points on 3-of-8 shooting and added four rebounds, one assist and a steal.
Junior guard Roshaunda Barnes paced the squad with four assists, sophomore center Brett Benzio pulled down a team-best six rebounds and Brown had a game-high six steals. Benzio was held to just four points, but all of them came in the final 1:06 with the game on the line.
“I think we have a lot of good players,” Stockton said. “I’m really excited about what we can become. Janique was out all that time and came in to give us really good minutes. We’ve got a freshman in Grayson who gives us 15 points and some key baskets to get us that lead. We have different players that can be in double figures on different nights.
“I think Tiffany Aidoo has played really, really well – and she’s had to play the four. And Chassity kind of broke the game open by being aggressive toward the basket and hitting some big shots.”
South Florida came out of the gates on fire, winning the tip and scoring the contest’s first seven points. The Green Wave rallied to make it a two-point ballgame at 12-10 on an Aidoo layup, but the Bulls roared right back with a 17-6 rally over the next 5:31 to take the largest lead of the night – 13 – at 29-16 with 8:22 left before the break. The South Florida advantage hovered in double digits for a while before Tulane use a late push to make it a seven-point affair at halftime.
The Bulls’ Jessica Lawson scored the first points of the second half with a jumper in the lane, but Tulane scored 10 of the next 12 points to take a 42-41 lead 4:00 into the stanza. A Lawson layup put South Florida back on top briefly, and a pair of Brown free throws during the ensuing trip down the floor gave the Green Wave a 44-43 lead they would not relinquish.
Brown’s free throws sparked a 7-0 Tulane rally and the Green Wave led by as many as 11 at 62-51 with 8:24 left to play. The Bulls, however, would not go away quietly. South Florida used an 11-2 run to cut Tulane’s advantage to a pair at 64-62 and later to just one at 65-64 and 67-66. On each occasion, the Green Wave had an answer.
Clinging to a one-point lead with 3:28 left to go, Aidoo nailed a pair of free throws and Benzio hit a jumper from the left baseline to push the lead back to five at 71-66 with 1:06 before the final horn. The game came down to free throws and the Green Wave hit 5-of-6 down the stretch to hang on for the win.
“We have a great team,” Brown said. “I love my team right now. Janique made some great hustle, key things. She got some rebounds and put them back in. Olivia hit some key shots from the 3-point line. I think everyone contributed a lot today and we did very well as a team today.”
Sequoyah Griffin led South Florida with a game-high 21 points while Lawson added 12 and both KaNeisha Saunders and Janae Stokes had 11 each. Melissa Dalembert had nine rebounds and three steals, Saunders and Jasmine Wynne posted five assists each, and Lawson blocked a game-best four shots.
The Green Wave return to action on Sunday, Dec. 20, when they play host to Stephen F. Austin at 2 p.m. in Fogelman Arena. For ticket information, contact the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office at (504) 861-WAVE.
