NEW ORLEANS — A fourth-quarter comeback bid by Tulane University Women’s Basketball (13-10, 3-7) fell short as the Green Wave lost 50-53 to Cincinnati (8-14, 1-8) on Saturday in Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.
The Wave battled back in the final frame to pull within one but was unable to get the go-ahead basket to fall in the final minute.
Dynah Jones and Kyren Whittington led the offensive attack for Tulane with each scoring double figures. Jones finished with 14 points to go with five rebounds and a pair of steals. Whittington added 12 points and five rebounds of her own.
The Bearcats were paced by Caitlyn Wilson who scored a season-high 18 points on six made threes, which tied her career-best.
The Green Wave came out with a defensive focus in the opening 10 minutes holding Cincinnati to just 26.7 percent shooting in the frame. Offensively, Marta Galic and Rachel Hakes each tallied five points in the quarter as Tulane had a 13-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.
A 7-0 run sparked by five-straight from Whittington opened the second quarter for the Wave to extend its advantage to as many as 12 points. The Bearcats responded to make it a one-possession game at the break with Tulane holding a 26-23 advantage at the half.
The momentum from the final minutes of the second quarter carried over into the third as Cincinnati opened the second half with 13 unanswered points to take a double-digit lead. Whittington and Kahia Warmsley each knocked down a three in the closing minutes of the frame to pull the deficit back into single digits, 36-44, heading into the fourth.
Jones shouldered the attack for a comeback bid by Tulane scoring 11 points in the final frame. She scored seven-straight points to pull the Green Wave back within one possession before cutting the deficit down to one with 1:29 left on the clock. Unfortunately, Tulane was unable to get the stop it needed in the final minutes falling by a final score of 50-53.
Up next, the Green Wave will look to rebound on the road at Wichita State on Thursday. Tipoff between Tulane and the Shockers is set for 6 p.m. CT.
{Courtesy: Tulane Athletics}
