Nov. 23, 2004

Final Stats

NEW ORLEANS, La. - Senior guard Kinya Lennix hit a short jumper with 1:01 left to play to erase a 48-47 deficit, and the Green Wave hit five-of-six free throws the rest of the way as the Tulane University women's basketball team defeated Jacksonville State 54-51 Tuesday evening in the 2004-05 home opener at Fogelman Arena.

The Gamecocks held a 48-45 lead with 2:09 left in the second half, but Lennix hit a pair of shots from the charity stripe to cut it to one, and then provided what proved to be the game winner just over a minute later. From there, she hit another free throw, and sophomore guard Jami Montagnino sandwiched four free throws around a 3-pointer by JSU's Shanika Freeman to account for the final score.

With the win, Tulane improves to 2-1 on the young season, and has now won six consecutive home openers dating back to the 1998-99 season. Jacksonville State, meanwhile, falls to 0-1.

"I thought we really needed to pick up the intensity late in the game, and we did that over the last six or seven minutes," head coach Lisa Stockton said. "It was certainly a team effort - different players came through with different things. There were a couple of big plays at the end that were the difference, and it was nice to see Jami and Kinya hitting their free throws down the stretch."

Junior guard D'Aundra Henry led the Green Wave with 14 points and eight rebounds while Montagnino was second on the squad with 11 points, including a 6-for-7 night from the free throw line. The Green Wave defense had a solid night, holding Jacksonville State to a 35.7 field goal percentage and tallying 13 steals, including four thefts by senior Tymeka Moore.

The Green Wave shot the ball well in the first half, hitting 13-of-29 shots from the field during the period to take a 28-26 lead into the locker room at the break. The second half, however, was a different story as Tulane was limited to just seven baskets on 28 shots.

Tulane led 39-32 early in the second half, but Jacksonville State would make it a one-point game at 40-39 when Katja Fuess hit a layup with 11:13 on the clock. The Green Wave was able to extend the lead to 44-39 on back-to-back baskets by Henry, but from there, Tulane hit just one shot from the field the rest of the way - Lennix's game-winner.

Following Lennix's basket, the Gamecocks had opportunities to reclaim the lead, but the Green Wave defense forced three missed shots and a jump ball that gave the ball back to Tulane with 29.1 seconds left to play. From there, Lennix hit one of two free throws to make it a 50-48 ballgame. The Gamecocks would turn the ball over again on the ensuing possession when Henry drew a charge from Freeman with 11.3 on the clock.

Freeman paced Jacksonville State with 14 points on 6-of-17 shooting, while Fuess and Cobie Carlisle tallied nine points each. Carlisle led all players with 10 rebounds.

The Green Wave returns to action on Friday, Nov. 26, when they open play in the Bobcat Classic vs. Texas A&M at 5:30 p.m. in San Marcos, Texas. Tulane will close out tournament play on Saturday with a 6 p.m. showdown with host Texas State University.