Tulsa Women's Hoops Fall To Tulane

NewsOn6.com and TulsaHurricane.com

Tulsa, OK -- The Tulsa women's basketball team closed out regular season action on Saturday, falling to Tulane, 64-56, at the Donald W. Reynolds Center. The Golden Hurricane fell to 7-21 on the season and 3-13 in Conference USA, while the Green Wave moved to 17-13 overall and 9-7 in the league.

Larrissa Williams led Tulsa with 19 points, while Kara Vaughan and Adria Phillips each added nine points and Chanel Johnson scored eight. Williams also recorded a team-high nine rebounds and six blocks.

Tulane quickly jumped out to a four-point lead, but Tulsa battled back and took a 9-8 lead with just under nine minutes to play in the first half. Both teams traded baskets until the Golden Hurricane reclaimed the advantage for the remainder of the half with 6:17 on the clock. Tulsa climbed to a seven-point lead, but took just a one-point advantage, 26-25, into the break.

Megan Valicevic hit a jumper to start the second half, giving the Green Wave the lead, which they would maintain for the entire half. Tulane climbed to a 12-point lead, but Tulsa pulled to within two points, 54-52, with 3:13 left to play, before the Green Wave finished on a 10-4 run for the win.

Valicevic led Tulane with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Ashley Langford and Brett Benzio added 13 and 10 points, respectively.

Tulsa out-rebounded Tulane, 32-29, had a better shooting percentage from the field (47.5 %) and totaled seven blocks in the game.

A Conference USA Championship bracket will be announced late Sunday night. Check back at TulsaHurricane.com for all the details.

The 2009 Conference USA Women's Basketball Championship is set to get underway on March 5-8 in New Orleans. For the past 13 years the league has awarded the championship trophy to eight different outstanding teams.

Fans may purchase their tickets in advance by calling the Tulsa ticket office at 918.631.GoTU (4688) or online at TulsaHurricane.com. General admission All Session tickets are $50 for adults and $40 for youth, while Single Session prices are $10 for adults and $7 for youth.