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Nov. 14, 2008

Box Score

Box Score PDF | Updated Preseason WNIT Bracket

NEW ORLEANS - Tulane's defense was dominant from the start, and the offense caught up as the Green Wave women's basketball team defeated Illinois State 75-62 in the first round of the Preseason WNIT Friday night at Fogelman Arena. Five players reached double-figure scoring as the Wave dropped the Missouri Valley Conference's defending champion in the season opener for both teams.

Senior point guard Ashley Langford scored 18 points to lead Tulane, while senior forward Megan Valicevic scored all of her 12 points in the second half. Junior guard Chassity Brown added 11, while junior guard Indira Kaljo and sophomore forward Brittany Lindsey each posted 10.

Freshman forward Brett Benzio hauled in a game-high 12 rebounds in her Tulane debut to pace the Green Wave on the glass. Tulane also received a breakout performance from sophomore guard Roshaunda Barnes, who scored six points, handed out five assists and grabbed seven rebounds.

"I'm so proud of our team," head coach Lisa Stockton said. "We played 10 players with a total team effort. There was foul trouble in the first half and we just had players come in and provide quality minutes. We had great play from a lot of different players at different times."

Lindsey chipped in three blocked shots as Tulane held the high-powered Redbirds - which averaged 76.9 points per game last season and returned their top four scorers - to 62 points on 38 percent shooting.

The Green Wave will move on to play Arizona State, which won 76-59 over Cleveland State, on Sunday in Tempe in the second round. The game time will be announced Saturday.

The two defenses got after each other early, as after six minutes, the score was just 3-2 Illinois State. Junior college transfer Indira Kaljo hit her first basket, a three-pointer from the corner, and Brett Benzio followed with a jumper from the paint to tie the game at 7-7.

After Illinois State took a 10-7 lead, the Green Wave reeled off a 16-8 run. Another Kaljo three-pointer gave the Wave a 13-10 lead, and Langford converted an and-one opportunity. Tulane stretched the lead to 26-18, connecting on 9-of-12 shots from the field after opening the game with a 1-for-12 drought.

Chassity Brown nailed back-to-back jumpers, helping Tulane stretch the margin to nine, at 32-23. After the Redbirds reeled off a 5-0 run, Brittany Lindsey scored inside as Tulane took a 34-28 lead into the break.

Even after their slow start, the Green Wave shot 44 percent from the field in the first half, with 15 buckets on 34 attempts. The Wave owned a 24-18 edge in rebounds, and a 8-2 advantage in second-chance points. While the defense kept the game low scoring, the game was anything but sloppy as each team committed just six turnovers. Tulane forced 19.7 turnovers per game last season.

"Defensively, we did a nice job of not giving them looks in the first half," Stockton said. "At halftime, I told the team that [Illinois State] is too good of a team not to make a run. When they cut it to two [53-51 with 6:52 remaining], I told them `That's their run.'...and we responded, and hit some big shots."

In the second half, the Green Wave maintained the nine-point edge, but Krick drained back-to-back open three-pointers to trim the margin to 41-38.

Langford sliced through the defense for a lay-up and a 45-40 lead with 13 minutes remaining. Lindsey took over inside, helping Tulane extend its lead to 53-46, but the Redbirds slashed into the deficit. A three-pointer by Amanda Clifton pulled Illinois State to within 53-51. ISU's Kritsti Cirone and Tulane's Megan Valicevic traded baskets, and then the Tulane high-low game. Benzio dumped the ball down inside to Lindsey, and as the defense collapsed on her, Lindsey found Langford driving to the hoop for a lay-up and a foul. The free throw gave Tulane a 60-54 lead with 3:48 remaining.

Valicevic provided the dagger, as Barnes managed to get the ball to her from a scramble on the floor with the shot clock winding down, and Valicevic nailed a three-pointer with the shot clock expiring to extend the lead to 66-52 with 1:57 to go.

Krick's three-pointer pulled the Redbirds to within eight, with 28 seconds left, but Barnes was fouled and drained both free throws as Tulane hit five of their final six from the line.

Illinois State, 0-1, was led by Krick's 18 points, while Cirone added 13. The Redbirds will go into the consolation pool, which will be broken into two consolation brackets of four-teams each at a single site.

Looking ahead to the third round, Tulane could face one of four teams: Oklahoma, UC-Riverside, (which meet in a first-round contest on Saturday), Middle Tennessee State or the Lafayette Leopards (also play their first round game on Saturday).

In other Preseason WNIT action, North Carolina downed Western Carolina, 90-56; VCU topped Liberty, 59-57, Indiana defeated Ball State, 84-68; and the Xavier Musketeers won over Ball State, 79-49.