Jan. 3, 2010

NEW ORLEANS - The Tulane University women's basketball team will put its eight-game winning streak on the line and look to close out non-conference play on a high note when the Green Wave travel to Hammond, La., to take on Southeastern Louisiana at 7 p.m. in the University Center.

The Green Wave enjoyed a December to remember, going 8-0 during the month to build a 10-2 mark so far during the 2009-10 season. Monday's game against the Lady Lions is the final non-league game of the regular season for Tulane, who will open the Conference USA portion of their schedule on Friday, Jan. 8, against Houston at 7 p.m. in Fogelman Arena.

"The important thing is that we're playing very well right now," Tulane head women's basketball coach Lisa Stockton said. "We're playing with a lot of intensity and we have a lot of great chemistry right now. The big thing now is to not look ahead to the weekend and make sure that we finish off our non-conference play on a good note."

Tulane heads to Hammond 10-2 on the year and on an eight-game winning streak, including a 2-0 showing last week to win the 14th Annual DoubleTree Classic in Fogelman Arena. As a team, the Green Wave are averaging 71.5 points, 35.3 rebounds, 18.0 assists, 12.8 steals and 3.6 blocks per game.

Senior guard Chassity Brown leads the team in scoring with a 14.1 point-per-game average while junior forward Brittany Lindsey and sophomore post player Brett Benzio follow with respective averages of 11.5 and 9.5. Benzio leads the team in rebounds, averaging 7.9 per game, while freshman guard Olivia Grayson paces the club with 3.5 assists a night and junior guard Roshaunda Barnes headlines the Wave with 3.2 steals per ballgame.

Tulane is hitting 44.8 percent of its shots from the field, connecting on 309-of-690 attempts, including 71-of-190 from beyond the 3-point arc (.374). The Green Wave defense has held opponents to a 38.3 shooting percentage (258-of-674) and a 28.8 clip from 3-point land (45-of-156). Tulane opponents are averaging 58.2 points, 38.2 rebounds, 11.5 assists, 8.6 steals and 2.6 blocks per game.

The Wave have used a different look lately as injuries to the Tulane frontcourt have forced the team to go small with a five-guard lineup. Lindsey has not played since injuring her shoulder in a win over Prairie View A&M on Dec. 4, and Benzio has played just 17 minutes in the past two games after suffering a foot injury.

Tulane's small-but-quick lineup has fared well against the opposition, though, and is one of the big reasons why the Green Wave lead C-USA in steals per game.

"It's not something that we would have liked to happen this way," Stockton said. "But with the injuries, we've developed different styles of play. We can play with a traditional four and five, or we can play with a smaller lineup. Our players have been in different positions and have done well in them. I couldn't be happier with how well we've been playing."

Southeastern Louisiana, meanwhile, enters Monday's contest 6-6 on the year, winners of four of its last five games and looking to bounce back from a 72-27 loss at LSU on Dec. 22.

As a team, the Lions are averaging 65.1 points, 40.0 rebounds, 14.2 assists, 8.2 steals and 2.3 blocks per game. Quantae Thomas leads the team with 11.1 points per game while Kim Edmonson is next with an 8.7 average. Zevy Ivory leads SLU in rebounding, averaging 5.9 per game, while Kellie Jenkins paces the squad with 54 assists and Erica Burgess headlines the club with 17 steals.

Southeastern is hitting 40.6 percent of its shots from the field, connecting on 291-of-716 attempts, including a 84-of-280 showing from beyond the 3-point line (.300). The Lions' defense has held opponents to a 39.8 shooting percentage (255-of-641) and a 28.4 clip from 3-point land (46-of-162). Southeastern Louisiana opponents are averaging 61.0 points, 36.2 rebounds, 12.7 assists, 8.6 steals and 2.5 blocks per game.

Monday's game marks the 18th meeting between Tulane and Southeastern Louisiana, and the Green Wave hold an 11-6 advantage in the all-time series. Tulane has now won the last seven matchups with the Lady Lions with Southeastern's last win coming in a 69-63 affair on Jan. 24, 1987, in Hammond. The last time the Wave and the Lions played, Tulane earned a 69-62 win on Jan. 21, 2006, at the University Center.

Following the trip to Hammond, the Green Wave return to action on Friday, Jan. 8, when Tulane takes on Houston. The game is the first of two home league contests for Tulane over the weekend as the Green Wave will play host to Rice on Sunday, Jan. 10, with tipoff of that game slated for 1 p.m. For ticket information to those games, as well as any future Green Wave event, contact the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office at (504) 861-WAVE.

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