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Nov. 7, 2008

NEW ORLEANS - The Tulane women's basketball team takes the court Saturday in its only tune up for the 2008-09 season. The Green Wave will take on the Houston Jaguars in a 2 p.m. exhibition at Fogelman Arena. Senior point guard Ashley Langford, who has started 89-straight season games, leads the Wave into action.

Tulane returns nine letter-winners from last year's squad, including Langford, a third team All- Conference USA selection last season and Tulane's all-time assist leader. Langford led the Green Wave in points and assists last season, and remains second on Tulane's all-time free throw percentage list.

Joining Langford in the starting backcourt will be Chassity Brown, a junior who enjoyed a breakout campaign last year. Brown moved into the starting lineup on December 5 and contributed 8.4 points per game while leading the team in steals in 22 starts.

Sophomore Tiffany Aidoo, a versatile guard who does a bit of everything, will also start Saturday. She averaged 5.1 points per game last year, with 2.9 rebounds. She moved into the starting lineup for the final 11 games of last season.

Up front, senior Megan Valicevic will start at forward. She averaged 5.5 points per game and 3.6 rebounds while splitting time between the three and four spots last season.

Redshirt sophomore Brittany Lindsey will jump center for the Wave. The 6-3 athletic post was second on the team with 9.7 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per contest.

Tulane's third senior, forward Kendra Barnes is expected to see action, as well as the other three returning players: junior guard Tia Jackson, sophomore guard Roshaunda Barnes and sophomore center Kiara Slaton.

Three players will make their Tulane debuts, as junior college transfer Indira Kaljo should see time at guard. Kaljo joins the Wave from Ventura College in California, where she averaged over 16 points per game as a shooting guard. Freshman post players Brett Benzio and Jennifer Nwokedi will also make their debuts. Benzio, a 6-3 forward/center hails from Palm City, Florida, where she helped Jensen Beach win the 4A State championship in 2007 as she was named Second Team All-State. Nwokedi, a 6-1 forward from Houston, Texas, was an all-state selection at St. Agnes Academy.

Tulane has met the Houston Jaguars in exhibition play in each of the last two seasons. The team is comprised of former collegiate players who have exhausted their college eligibility. Coach Louis Ray III has a pool of 25 players to draw from for each contest. The Jaguars' preliminary roster for Saturday's game consists of: Melissa Abraham (who attended the University of Memphis), Jennifer Cobb (Grand Canyon University), Kashawna Curry (Marshall), Krystal Frazier (Rice), Brandy Gilford (Texas Southern), Keke Harris (Houston), Chandi Jones (Houston), Sikeetha Shepard (Marshall), Menomanee Smith (Texas Southern), Umeka Webb (North Carolina State) and Lashinda Winters (Houston).

The Green Wave will face Illinois State on Friday, November 14 at Fogelman Arena in the first round of the Preseason WNIT to open the regular season. Should the Green Wave advance, they were would take on the winner of Arizona State/Cleveland State.