Jan. 8, 2010

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NEW ORLEANS - Junior forward Tiffany Aidoo had 18 points to lead four Green Wave players with double-digit scoring totals, and junior center Brett Benzio posted a game-high 13 rebounds, but it was not enough as the Tulane University women's basketball team dropped its Conference USA opener to Houston, 70-68, Friday evening in Fogelman Arena.

Down a pair of starters - as junior forward Brittany Lindsey missed her eighth straight game with a shoulder injury and senior guard Chassity Brown was sidelined after breaking a bone in her left (non-shooting hand) during Thursday's practice - the Green Wave saw its nine-game winning streak come to an end to fall to 11-3 on the year and 0-1 in league play. Houston, meanwhile, snapped a four-game losing skid to improve to 7-7 overall and 1-0 in Conference action.

"I think Houston is a really good team," Tulane head women's basketball coach Lisa Stockton said. "Their record may not show it but they have the best strength of schedule in the conference and have played some pretty good teams tough. We had to adjust in one day without our leading scorer and still scored 68 points. We did a lot of good things tonight. We just need to keep playing hard and doing what we've been doing all season."

Tulane led most of the way before Houston used a 20-8 run late in the second half to take a 68-62 lead with 1:11 left to play. Junior guard Roshaunda Barnes cut the deficit in half with a 3-pointer, and following a defensive stop, Aidoo hit her fifth trey of the day to tie the contest at 68-all with 40 seconds remaining in regulation.

The Cougars, however, responded as Posche Landry drained a runner in the lane with 10 seconds to go for what proved to be the final score. Tulane had a chance to tie the contest, but junior forward Danielle Nunn's shot rolled in-and-out, and the rebound bounced off Benzio to give the Cougars the ball with 1.7 second on the clock.

"The effort was great," Stockton said. "We played to win. Tiffany Aidoo hit a 3 to tie the game and they hit a great shot. They hit a very difficult shot to get the lead, and then we had a chance there at the end. I don't know if a team with less experienced players in there can push a team like Houston to that level. I feel good about it. I feel good that we came out today and really competed."

Aidoo finished the night 6-of-10 from the field, including a 5-of-7 performance from beyond the 3-point arc. Freshman guard Olivia Grayson, who played all 40 minutes of the contest, was next with 12 points, while Barnes and Nunn finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Barnes paced the club with six assists, five steals and three blocked shots.

The difference in the game, however, was turnovers as Tulane committed a season-high 27 giveaways which the Cougars turned into 30 points. The Green Wave defense, meanwhile, forced 20 turnovers, had 14 steals and turned the freebees into 22 points.

Houston scored the first five points of the game on a layup by Lesslee Mason and 3-pointer by Roxana Button. Tulane answered with a 10-5 rally to tie the score and took a two-point lead on a basket by rookie Janique Kautsky which would hold up the rest of the first half.

The Green Wave advantage swelled to as many as eight at 38-30 on a Nunn jump shot with 1:54 to go before the break, but the Cougars scored seven straight to make it a one-point affair at halftime. Tulane pushed its lead back to seven on a Benzio layup 7:29 into the second half to make it 52-45 before the Cougars mounted their comeback.

Landry led all players with 19 points while Brittany Scott posted 15 and the duo of Button and Courtney Taylor had 10 each. Taylor led the Cougars with nine rebounds while Landry had a game-best seven assists and tied Barnes for game-high steal honors with five of her own.

The Green Wave return to action on Sunday, Jan. 10, when they take on Rice at 1 p.m. in Fogelman Arena. The game against the Owls was originally slated for a 2 p.m. tip, but was moved up one hour after the game was picked up by Comcast Sports South and CBS College Sports Network. For ticket information, contact the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office at (504) 861-WAVE.

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