NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Tulane University women’s basketball (20-9, 11-5 AAC) will open the 2022 WNIT by hosting Jacksonville State (24-7, 13-3 ASUN) in the first round Thursday night. Tipoff between the Green Wave and the Gamecocks is set for 6:30 p.m. CT in Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.
Here’s WGNO Sports’ interview with head coach Lisa Stockton.
The Green Wave’s quarterfinal matchup will be aired live on ESPN3. Fans can watch the game live by CLICKING HERE. Fans also can listen to the contest live on the Tulane Sports Network from Learfield on 88.3 WRBH with Gus Kattengell or streaming on the Tulane Athletics App and The Varsity Network App.
This marks Tulane’s 20th postseason appearance and its ninth in the WNIT under head coach Lisa Stockton. The Green Wave holds a 10-8 record all-time including 6-1 in the round of 64. Tulane is also 7-0 at home in the tournament. With a win, the Wave would advance to the round of 32 for the eighth time in program history. In its last WNIT appearance, Tulane went 1-1 last season with a win over Illinois State in the round of 32 before losing to Ole Miss in the round of 16.
The Green Wave and the Gamecocks have met once in program history with Tulane winning the only previous matchup. Tulane defeated JSU 54-51 on November 23, 2004, in New Orleans. Tulane is 3-3 all-time against teams from the ASUN and holds a 3-1 advantage at home in those contests. The last time the Wave played an opponent from the ASUN Tulane defeated Central Arkansas 65-38 at home on November 22, 2019.
A trio earned conference honors for Tulane at the conclusion of the regular season. Redshirt senior Moon Ursin was named the AAC Newcomer of the Year and earned First Team All-AAC Honors. Krystal Freeman and Dynah Jones each landed Third Team All-AAC selection for the Green Wave.
Four players are averaging at least 11 points for the Olive and Blue this season with redshirt senior Moon Ursin leading the team averaging 13.7 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. The Destrehan, Louisiana, native also finished the regular season ranked third in the AAC in rebounding and sixth in scoring. Dynah Jones joined Ursin in the top-10 in scoring in the league with 13.5 points per contest and is averaging a team-high 15.1 points in league games. Krystal Freeman follows with 11.8 points and 7.6 boards while Arsula Clark rounds out the top scorers for Tulane posting 11.7 points and 4.1 assists per contest.
Jacksonville State enters the WNIT after finishing as the runner-up in the ASUN Tournament. The Gamecocks are led by senior Amari Martin with 11.2 points per game. Five other players average at least 6.4 points in the scoring column for JSU. As a team, the Gamecocks rank in the top 25 nationally in turnovers per game, turnover margin and fewest turnovers. This is the first WNIT appearance in program history for Jacksonville State and the first postseason appearance in the program’s Division-I history. With a win over Jacksonville State, the Green Wave would move on to face the winner of Alabama and Troy in the round of 32. Tulane defeated both programs during the regular season recording a 69-66 win over the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and beating the Trojans 91-84 in Uptown.