Nov. 13, 2009

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NEW ORLEANS - Senior guard Chassity Brown scored a game-high 22 points and sophomore center Brett Benzio posted a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds as the Tulane University women's basketball team opened the 2009-10 season in fine fashion with an 86-52 victory over Louisiana-Monroe Friday evening at Fogelman Arena.

The Green Wave led by as many as 11 three times in the first half, but a late Warhawks rally made it a six-point ballgame going into halftime as Tulane went into the locker room on top, 35-29. The second half, however, was all Tulane as the Green Wave hit 20-of-32 shots (.625) from the field - including a 4-for-7 performance from beyond the 3-point arc - in the final 20 minutes to outscore ULM, 51-23.

The 34-point win is the second-largest margin of victory for Tulane in season-opening play in the 35-year history of the program, falling just two points shy of the Green Wave's 90-54 win over Hofstra in the Harvard Tournament in Boston, Mass., back on Dec. 4, 1993. Tulane has now won five straight season openers and have emerged victorious seven consecutive times when opening the year at home.

"We were tested in the first half, which was good," Tulane head women's basketball coach Lisa Stockton said. "We came out in the second half and answered the test. I thought we did a great job of dominating. We came out and hit two quick 3s and just rolled after that. I think this time of year is for us to see what kind of character we have. Today, they did a good job of responding."

Brown hit 9-of-14 shots from the field and was 3-of-4 from 3-point land. Senior guard Indira Kaljo was next with 15 points, including three 3-pointers, and junior forward Brittany Lindsey followed with 14. As a team, Tulane hit 54.7 percent of its shots (35-of-64). The Green Wave outscored the Warhawks in just about every category, having a 50-18 edge in points in the paint, a 34-14 advantage in points off turnovers, a 16-0 showing in fast-break points and a 23-13 lead in points off the bench.

Perhaps the most impressive stat line of the night, however, came from true freshman guard Olivia Grayson. A native of Metairie, La., and a 2009 graduate of nearby Archbishop Chapelle High School, Grayson had a huge crowd of family and friends on hand donning shirts with "Turtle" - Grayson's nickname - across the chest. The rookie responded in a big way by scoring seven points, pulling down eight rebounds and dishing out a game-high 10 assists.

"I had no idea about the t-shirts," Grayson said. "That was a complete surprise and a little embarrassing actually. I was a little nervous. Being from here, I think there is a little more expectations, but I just went out and played. I was talking to one of my cousins before the game and I was telling her how nervous I was to be playing my first college game. She said, `You've been playing the game your whole life. Just go out there and have fun.' That's what I did."

Benzio added a game-best three blocks to her point and rebound totals, and also chipped in with a pair of assists. Junior guard Roshaunda Barnes led Tulane with four steals.

Tulane scored the first four points of the ballgame and never trailed. The lead swelled to 10 at 14-4 with 14:57 left in the opening half and the Green Wave held 11-point advantages at 21-10 at the 12-minute mark, 25-14 at 9:02 and 27-16 with 6:51 left on the clock.

UL-Monroe, however, refused to go away and chipped the deficit down to three at 28-25 with 3:14 left in the first half. Tulane outscored the Warhawks 7-4 the rest of the stanza before turning it on after halftime.

Kaljo and Brown canned back-to-back 3-pointers out of the break and Tulane pushed the lead to 21 at 50-29 when Brown hit a jumper and converted the and-one free throw 4:32 into the second half. A pair of Larrie Williams free throws sliced the Green Wave advantage to 19 at 54-35 but Tulane used an 18-2 run to make it a 35-point affair at 72-37 with 7:17 left in regulation.

The Warhawks got the lead down below 30 just twice the rest of the way as Tulane sent the crowd home happy and eager for the next ballgame.

"I thought our defense was holding them pretty well," Stockton said. "We just came down and took some bad shots (at the end of) the first half. That's how they got back in it. I don't think our defense really broke down. We came down and we had about a five-minute struggle where we took some quick shots and a lot of bad shots. In the second half, I thought we had more balance. We took better shots, we were able to set our defense and get some steals and some run-outs."

With the win, Tulane improves its all-time record against UL-Monroe to 7-6, including wins in the last four meetings dating back to 2004. The Green Wave defense held the Warhawks to a 32.3 shooting percentage (20-of-62) for the night, including 21.9 clip in the second half (7-of-32).

Sannisha Williams and Priscilla Mdiandja led the Warhawks with 12 and 11 points, respectively, while Shannon Davis paced ULM with 10 rebounds. Elizabeth Torres led the team with four assists and a pair of steals.

Tulane returns to action on Friday, Nov. 20, when the Green Wave open play in the Navy Classic in Annapolis, Md., against Liberty at 3:45 p.m. (CST). Depending on the outcome of that contest, Tulane will take on either Loyola (Md.) or host Navy on Saturday at either 3:45 or 6 p.m. The Green Wave's next home game is slated for Wednesday, Nov. 25, when they play host to state-rival LSU at 7 p.m. in Fogelman Arena.

Tickets may be purchase in person on the first floor of the James W. Wilson, Jr., Center, over the phone at (504) 861-WAVE (9283), or online at www.TulaneGreenWave.com. In addition, single-match tickets can also be purchase on the date of competition at Fogelman Arena.