Nov. 20, 2009

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ANNAPOLIS, Md. - In 1961, recording artists The Shirelles' single "Mama Said" topped out at No. 4 in the U.S. with the infamous line "Mama said they'll be days like this."

Forty-eight years later, that line of prose proved to stand the test of time for the Tulane University women's basketball team as the Green Wave dropped a 63-52 contest to Liberty in the opening game of the Navy Classic Friday afternoon at Alumni Hall.

Little went right for the team donning olive green and sky blue in the opening half and that set the tone for the rest of the game. After trailing by as many as 20 in the first half, the Green Wave cut the deficit to nine twice over the final 20 minutes of play. The Lady Flames, however, rallied on each occasion to keep Tulane at arm's reach and improve to 3-0 on the year. With the loss, the Green Wave fall to 1-1 on the young season.

"The game really came down to the first half," Tulane head women's basketball coach Lisa Stockton said. "They were very physical and we didn't respond in a positive way. We really let our offense dictate our defense. We've got to be better at that. We've got to be tougher playing an opponent that is that physical.

"I thought the second half, we really battled well. I told the team, we won the second half (outscoring Liberty, 33-31). We really came back and battled, even though a lot of things didn't really go our way. We hit shots at the end and we really tried to get some steals. We just have to work on a few things and get ready to come back tomorrow."

Three Green Wave players posted double-figure scoring totals as senior guards Chassity Brown and Indira Kaljo tallied 13 and 12 points, respectively, and junior forward Brittany Lindsey was next with 11. Lindsey paced Tulane with five rebounds while Brown and junior point guard Roshaunda Barnes tied for the team lead in assists with five each. Brown also headlined the Wave defense with three steals.

The game, however, was decided on the boards as Liberty out-rebounded Tulane, 38-22, including a 15-9 advantage on the offensive glass. Liberty turned its rebounding advantage into nine second-chance points and the Lady Flames' size inside gave them a 34-18 edge in points in the paint.

"We were in a situation where we got behind that we had to go smaller and quicker to be able to press," Stockton said. "It became a game of chess a little bit, and I think that is how the rebounds got so out of control. We went smaller so we could full-court press and create some offense off of our defense."

Lindsey hit the game's first basket on a layup 33 seconds into the contest before Liberty went on a 9-0 run to take a lead the Flames never relinquished. Lindsey hit another basket at 15:27 to make it a five-point contest, but the Flames' defense held the Green Wave without a point over the next 8:45 to build a 20-point lead at 24-4.

Tulane cut the Liberty lead down to 11 courtesy of a Brown 3-pointer with 11 seconds to go before halftime, but indicative of the way the night went for the Green Wave, Liberty's LaKendra Washington hit a layup as the first-half horn sounded and the Flames went into the locker room on top 32-19 at the break.

As a team, Tulane hit just 8-of-23 shots (.348) and turned the ball over 14 times in the first half. The Flames, meanwhile, turned the freebees into 15 points, including four of the fast-break variety.

Things got better for the Green Wave in the second half, but the early deficit proved to be too much to overcome. Liberty opened the final frame's scoring on a basket by Avery Warley 20 seconds into the half before Kaljo canned a pair of 3-pointers and freshman guard Olivia Grayson hit a short jumper as part of an 8-2 Tulane rally to cut the lead to nine at 36-27 with 17:04 left to play.

As they had all day, the Lady Flames answered with a 12-2 rally over the next 4:14 to stretch the advantage back to 20 at 48-28. The Green Wave got the lead down to 10 twice - at 56-46 with 5:35 remaining and again at 59-49 with 3:11 left to play - and a Lindsey layup made it a nine-point affair at 61-52 with 1:54 on the clock. The Liberty defense, meanwhile, held Tulane scoreless the rest of the way and nailed a pair of free throws in the final 30 seconds to account for the final score.

Devon Brown led Liberty with a game-high 40 points while Amber Mays finished with 10. Rachel McLeod and Warley paced the Lady Flames with 12 and 11 rebounds, respectively, and Mays led the club with three assists and four steals.

The Green Wave return to action on Saturday, Nov. 21, when they take on Loyola (Md.) in the Navy Classic consolation game at 3:45 p.m. (CST). Following Saturday's ballgame, Tulane will fly back to New Orleans to begin preparing for its Nov. 25 home contest against state-rival LSU. Tipoff for that ballgame is slated for 7 p.m. in Fogelman Arena.

The Tulane Department of Athletics will be "Giving Thanks" to its loyal fans by offering a free ticket with the purchase of one ticket at regular price, and the first 250 fans to Wednesday's game will receive a free Tulane women's basketball t-shirt. In addition, Tulane will start a holiday canned-food drive on Nov. 25, which will run through Dec. 22. Any patron that brings a non-perishable food item to any of men's or women's basketball games during that time will receive $1 off regular general admission prices. All proceeds from the food drive benefit the New Orleans Second Harvest Food Bank.

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. Tickets can also be purchase on the date of competition at Fogelman Arena.

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