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Women's Basketball Opens Big Easy Classic at UNO on Friday versus Jackson State
Dec. 4, 2008
NEW ORLEANS - The Green Wave women's basketball team looks for its third-straight win on Friday afternoon against Jackson State in the opener of the Big Easy Classic. Tulane, coming off back-to-back wins over Louisiana-Lafayette and Louisiana-Monroe, will play at 4:30 at Lakefront Arena in the first day of the event co-hosted by Tulane and UNO. Saturday, the action moves to Fogelman Arena. In the last two Tulane victories, Chassity Brown has struck for 16 points each, while Tiffany Aidoo added a 10-point effort last Saturday at Louisiana-Monroe. The Wave and the Lady Tigers meet for the second time ever, the first since Tulane's 90-44 win in the first round of the WNIT on March 14, 2007. Tulane is playing just its second neutral site game at UNO's Lakefront Arena, having topped Dillard in the 1985 season. The game will be Tulane's first at Lakefront Arena since 2002, when the Green Wave fell to UNO. In the second game of the Big Easy Classic, UNO takes on Indiana State. All Tulane season-ticket holders will gain free admission Friday at Lakefront Arena. On Saturday, Tulane will host a tripleheader at Fogelman Arena, as the Green Wave meet the Sycamores of Indiana State. The game will tip off 30 minutes after the Tulane men's game against Western Kentucky, which starts at 2 p.m. Jackson State and UNO will complete the day's action, 30 minutes after Tulane-Indiana State. Fans with a men's basketball ticket may stay free of charge for the following two games, and all UNO women's season tickets will be honored Saturday. Additionally, fans who purchases two tickets to Saturday's men's game will receive two free tickets to a December non-conference game of their choice. >GAME NOTES Tulane's two wins are at home, where the Green Wave are averaging 77.5 PPG at Fogelman Arena, but 52.5 PPG on the road this season `Diaper Dandy' Brett Benzio has been no baby in the paint, as the 6-3 forward leads Tulane in rebounding with 10.0 per game. She hauled in 12 rebounds in her debut vs Illinois State, and recorded her first double-double against Louisiana-Lafayette with a career high 15 rebounds and a career-best 12 points. Chassity Brown has recorded back-to-back season highs with 16 points in each of the last two games. She nailed her first four attempts from three-point range against Louisiana-Lafayette, and has also grabbed 11 rebounds in the last two contests to go with eight assists. The Green Wave shot a blistering 59-percent in the first half, at Louisiana-Monroe, literally shoot lights out: a power outage knocked out the lights at Fant-Ewing Coliseum, delaying the game for over two hours just after halftime. Following the delay, Tulane shot 31.8 percent, and saw its 12-point lead disappear before holding on for the 62-60 victory. Leading Tulane in rebounding, Brett Benzio has 60 boards on the season, more than a quarter of Tulane's total (27%). She ranks third in C-USA in rebounding individually at 10.0 RPG. Tulane is 13-0 dating back to last season when connecting at a higher field goal percentage than its opponent, 3-0 this year, and just 5-17 when posting a lower one (1-0 when same). In Tulane's win over Illinois State, the Wave got to the free throw line 30 times. Tulane is 3-0 when attempting 17 or more free throws, and 0-3 when attempting less. In her last four games, Brittany Lindsey has connected on 25-of-43 attempts (.582), for 14.8 points per game. At ULM, she hit on five of seven shots. Her .532 FG percentage leads the Wave. Chassity Brown's last two first halves have resulted in 12-of-14 shooting (.857), including six-of-six from behind the three-point line, for 16.0 PPG. She also added six rebounds and five assists. After scoring 26 points in the first 33 minutes against LSU, Tulane finally got its offense going late with 21 points in the final seven minutes. Tulane then scored 80 points at home against Louisiana-Lafayette, giving them 101 points in 47 minutes. In the previous 83 minutes, the Wave had totalled 103 points. Tulane's 28 field goals versus ULL were the product of 23 Green Wave assists. Ashley Langford led the way with six, but Megan Valicevic added a career-high five dimes, while Chassity Brown added a season-best five. Three other players, including Tia Jackson, each handed out a pair of assists in the win. Tulane held Illinois State Redbirds to 62 points, over 14 points below their average last season (76.9). The Green Wave also held VCU to 65 points and LSU to 63. In five of Tulane's six games, the Wave have held opponents to 65 points or less. Ashley Langford is now third on the Conference USA all-time assist list with 558. In her last three games, Langford has doled out 16 assists. In two games, Roshaunda Barnes has passed her totals for all of last season in points. Her first game of 2008-09 brought her to within one of her 2007-08 totals in points and rebounds (seven vs Illinois State). Barnes' six points in the opener were one shy of the seven points she totalled all of last season as a freshman. On Saturday, the action moves to Fogelman Arena, as the Wave take on Indiana State (30 minutes following Tulane men's 2 p.m. game with Western Kentucky), with UNO versus Jackson State to follow 30 minutes after the completion of the Tulane-ISU game.
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