NEW ORLEANS – Senior forward Krystal Freeman recorded a monster double-double with 25 points to complement a season-high 17 rebounds as the Tulane women’s basketball team defeated Southeastern Louisiana, 70-54, in non-conference play Saturday evening at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.
Freeman shot 11-of-17 from the floor while recording her 19th-career double-double and second of the season. She posted 23 points and 10 boards in the season-opening victory over Nicholls State on Nov. 25.
Arsula Clark and Dynah Jones also reached double-figures with 13 points apiece, while Salma Bates handed out a game-high six assists coming off the bench.
The Green Wave (4-2) finished the night shooting 27-of-59 (.458) overall and owned scoring advantages of 42-28 in the paint and 14-3 on second chances.
Southeastern Louisiana (1-2) scored the first five points of the game behind some quick baskets and scrappy defense before extending their lead to as many as six on multiple occasions in the first quarter. The Green Wave worked the ball into the paint where they got four baskets and as many free throws made to cut the deficit to one, 16-15, after one quarter of play.
Tulane continued its battle in the back-and-forth nature of the first five minutes of the second quarter, but the Lions went on a 7-1 scoring run down to the two-minute mark to open up a 29-21 advantage.
The Green Wave responded in a big way with a pair of three-point plays on consecutive possessions by Freeman and Jones to ignite an 8-0 run to close the half and tie the game at 29 at the intermission.
The Wave shot 9-of-28 (.321) from the field in the opening 20 minutes, while the Lions shot 12-of-35 (.343) and held a 25-21 rebounding edge as well as a 10-0 scoring advantage on fast breaks.
Tulane wasted little time taking its first lead of the game when Clark scored the first basket of the third quarter, and that was the first of three lead swaps in just over three minutes of action. The third change came on a Freeman basket at the 6:50 mark, jumpstarting a 7-0 run over the next two minutes to give the Green Wave a 40-34 lead.
The Lions roared back with eight of the next 10 points to knot the score at 42 with 2:51 remaining in the period, but the Wave reclaimed the lead and did not surrender it for the rest of the quarter to take a 49-47 edge into the final 10 minutes.
Tulane was dominant at both ends of the court in the fourth quarter, while holding the Lions to just 3-of-14 (.214) shooting in the final period. The Green Wave outscored the opposition, 21-7, in the fourth quarter while closing out the game with 12 straight points as part of a 17-3 scoring run.
Southeastern was led by Morgan Carrier’s 18 points, as Jaylen Huderson chipped in 10 points off the bench.
Up next, the Green Wave head out for an American Athletic Conference road trip to Greenville, N.C., to face East Carolina on Saturday, December 22. Tipoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. (CT) at Williams Arena in Minges Coliseum.
{Press release courtesy of Tulane Athletics}