Jan. 30, 2005

Final Stats

GREENVILLE, N.C. - Junior guard D'Aundra Henry's jumper from 12 feet out with 13.6 seconds left in the game gave the Tulane women's basketball team all of the cushion it would need as the Green Wave defeated East Carolina, 64-62, Sunday at Minges Coliseum.

After a back-and-forth first half that sent ECU to the locker room with a 30-27 advantage, Tulane went on a 15-2 run, taking the lead at the 14:45 mark on a Henry three. Lakethia Hampton then rattled of six straight points as the Wave moved ahead, 46-39. The Pirates clawed back, cutting a lead that had once been 10 points to a 54-54 tie with 5:59 left on the clock.

An off-balance 15-footer from Henry and two free throws by Jami Montagnino put the Green Wave up 58-54, but four points by Jennifer Jackson and a Viola Cooper three gave ECU a 61-60 advantage. Tulane regained the lead on a pair of charity shots from Henry. With 13.6 ticks left on the clock, Henry took ECU's Samantha Pankey one-on-one and hit a short jumper in the lane to move the score to 64-61.

As the Pirates moved the ball up the floor, Ebonee Downey was fouled on a three-point attempt. ECU needed all three free throws to take the game to overtime. Downey hit the first shot and came up short on the remaining two as Tulane hung on to win its second league game of the season, 64-62. Downey's trip to the line was the first visit by the Pirates all afternoon.

"It's so tough to get over the hump and get a conference win on the road," Tulane head coach Lisa Stockton said. "We lacked a little energy in the first half, and gave energy to everything we had in the second. This was a bit of a gut check today, and I'm glad our kids came through."

Natalie Walsh came off of the Tulane bench to hit two three-pointers in the first half for six first-half points. Montagnino drilled two-of-three from beyond the arc for six points as the Wave hit 40 percent of its shots in the half (10-of-25). For the game, Tulane (10-11, 2-6) shot 22-of-46 from the field for 47.8 percent while ECU (7-13, 3-4) hit 45.8 percent of its shots for the game.

Henry led all scorers with 20 points, 18 of which came in the second half. Hampton came off of the Green Wave bench and tossed in 15 points while pulling down six rebounds. Redshirt freshman guard Courtney Simmons added 10 points to go along with a career-high six assists. Jennifer Jackson led the way for East Carolina with 17.

"We had a good inside-outside combination on offense," Stockton added. "When we got the ball to Lakethia, they really had a hard time stopping her."

The win is the first conference road victory for Tulane since the Wave visited East Carolina on February 28, 2003.

Tulane returns to action Saturday, Feb. 5, at Southern Miss with the opening tip slated for 5 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on the flagship radio station of Tulane women's basketball, WRBH 88.3 FM.