Box Score - Tulane 72, South Alabama 62

NEW ORLEANS, La. – Tulane used a late 9-0 run in the second half Saturday night to pull away from the University of South Alabama women’s basketball team and hold on for a 72-62 victory at Fogleman Arena.  The pivotal run was led by Tulane’s Olivia Grayson and Roshaundra Barnes, who combined for all nine of the Green Wave’s points during that key stretch.

Tulane is a championship team and right now they have what we don’t, which is a little higher level of mental toughness,” South Alabama head coach Rick Pietri said.  “They physically and mentally out-toughed us at the end of the game.  I thought our team really competed well for about three-quarters of the game.  In the stretch run at the end, we just didn’t show the toughness – neither mentally nor physically – that we needed to be able to withstand.  That’s why Tulane was able to win the game and why we were able to compete with them, but not win the game.”

South Alabama (0-1) will now return home to host its second-straight Conference USA foe, Southern Miss.  Tip-off versus the Golden Eagles is set for Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. at the Mitchell Center.  With the win, Tulane improves to 1-0 on the young season.

The Lady Jags were led offensively by Sarda Peterson’s 14 points, as the junior was 6-of-8 from the field, including a perfect 2-for-2 from beyond the arc.  Christian Shelter also chipped in with 13 points for South Alabama.  Taylor Ammons pulled down 12 boards for the Jags in the loss.

Tulane placed five players in double-figures in the victory and were led by Grayson’s 21 points, one shy of tying her career-high.  The sophomore was 7-of-13 from the field and of her 21 points in the contest, 16 came during the second period of play.

Also joining Grayson in double-digits were Barnes with 11 and Tiffany Aidoo, Brittany Lindsey and Whitney Bibbins each with 10 points apiece.  Brett Benzio just missed out on carding a double-double, as she finished with nine points and 12 rebounds.

South Alabama did a good job defensively during the first 20 minutes of action, holding the Green Wave to 22 points and 28.6 percent shooting.  Tulane bounced back though to record 50 second-half points and shoot 50 percent from the field.

Shelter extended USA’s lead to 29-22 with a bucket on South Alabama’s first possession of the second half, Lindsey came right back and recorded five-straight points over the next minute –and-a-half to trim the deficit to 29-27.  Over the first four-plus minutes of the period, Lindsey would go on to record Tulane’s first eight points.

USA looked as if it had retaken the momentum, as the Jags quickly pushed their lead back out to nine (37-28) after a fast break jumper from Vannessa Simmons in the left corner at the 15:50 mark, but the Green Wave again made another charge and went on an 11-1 scoring spurt over the next three-and-a-half minutes.  Bibbins’ layup with 12 minutes, 12 seconds remaining on the clock capped off the run and gave Tulane its first lead since early in the first period of play.

Over the next five minutes neither team was able to pull away, but with the score tied at 50-50 with less than seven minutes to play, Grayson drained a trey and after a Jaguar turnover, Benzio laid the ball up to give Tulane a 55-50 advantage.  With under five minutes to go, Mary Nixon hit one of her two attempts at the charity stripe and then on South Alabama’s next possession, Peterson knocked down another three-pointer to pull USA to within one at 55-54 at the 4:10 mark.

From there though, Tulane would go on the game-changing run and stretch its lead out to double-figures, eventually leading by as many as 12 in the final minute.

Shelter provided the offense early on for the Lady Jags.  The senior connected on her first three attempts from the floor and recorded USA’s first seven points.  The trio of Benzio, Barnes and Aidoo combined to post the Green Wave’s first 11.  Neither team was able to take more than a two-point advantage on the other, until with the game knotted up at 13-13, Mansa El drained a jumper inside the lane with just over 10 minutes to go in the first half that began a 10-3 run over the next five-plus minutes.  Later during the run, Peterson drove the lane and found Veronica Cherizol open underneath the basket for an easy layup.  The Fort Myers, Fla., native then drained a deep three-pointer from the left wing at the 8:21 mark and then found an opening in the Tulane defense for a layup of her own.  Shelter capped off the scoring for USA and gave the Jags nine-point lead (25-16) with her second trey of the half with four minutes, 45 seconds remaining before the intermission.

The Green Wave’s Bibbins ended the South Alabama run when she broke the South Alabama press and hit a 10-foot jumper in the lane at the 2:33 mark.  Bibbins bucket was the first points for Tulane in over six minutes.  On the ensuing Tulane possession the freshman knocked down a turn-around jumper.  Benzio then narrowed the gap to 25-22 with a pair of free throws, but Cherizol’s jumper with 25 seconds left in the opening half sent USA into the locker room with a 27-22 lead.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

NOTES:  With the win, Tulane extends its win-streak in the series to five.  Tulane’s head coach Lisa Stockton is now 4-0 all-time versus South Alabama, while USA’s Pietri falls to 0-2.

-- USA --