Dec. 1, 2001

NEW ORLEANS, La. - -

Tulane 90, McNeese State 34

Florida 78, Creighton 67

Teana McKiver had 17 points to lead four players in double figures as the Tulane women's basketball team cruised to a 90-34 win over McNeese State in the first round of the Tulane Invitational at Fogelman Arena on Saturday.

The Green Wave improved to 5-1 with the victory, while McNeese dropped to 0-5 to start the season. Tulane will face No. 18 Florida in the championship game after the Lady Gators posted a 78-67 win over Creighton in Saturday's other first-round game. Creighton and McNeese will play for third place on Sunday.

Tulane scored the first 10 points of the game and led 18-1 before McNeese hit its first field goal at the 12:53 mark. The Cowgirls pulled to within 13, but Tiffany Wilson almost single-handedly gave the Green Wave a 20-point cushion. With Tulane leading 18-5, Wilson scored seven straight points, had three steals and a blocked shot in a four minute span to give Tulane a 25-5 advantage. The Green Wave would build its lead to as many as 30 before a pair of McNeese baskets inside the final minute gave Tulane a 43-18 lead at the halftime break.

McNeese scored the first basket of the second half, but a three-pointer from Delacey Joseph and a pair of free throws from Gwen Slaughter gave Tulane a 48-20 lead at the 18:57 mark. McNeese answered with a jumper from Shanel Handy, but it would be the Cowgirls' only field goal over the next 12 minutes as Tulane built a 50-point cushion. A pair of free throws from Jessica Carroll gave Tulane its largest lead of the game, 89-29 at the 1:50 mark, before the Wave would claim the 56-point win.

McKiver's 17 points came on 8-of-8 shooting, while she also added three rebounds, three blocks and a steal in just 18 minutes of action. Joseph added 14 points and career-highs of eight rebounds and five assists. Wilson came off the bench to score 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, while picking up a career-high five steals. Britt Themann was the fourth Green Wave player in double-figures with 10 points and four rebounds.

Carroll tied her career high with eight points, while Kaisha Lymon pulled down six rebounds and had a career-best four blocked shots. All 12 Tulane players who saw action scored at least two points.

As a team, Tulane recorded a season-high 10 blocked shots while holding McNeese to just 27.1 percent shooting for the game (13-of-48). The Wave out-rebounded McNeese 40-25 and forced 29 turnovers, resulting in 41 Green Wave points.

Tulane connected on 57.1 percent of its own shots (32-of-56), including 58.3 percent of its three-pointers (7-of-12). The Wave also scored 36 points in the paint, while the Tulane reserves outscored their McNeese counterparts 45-21.

Creighton and McNeese start the second day of the Tulane Invitational at 3 p.m., while Tulane will face Florida in the championship at approximately 7 p.m. Both games will be at Fogelman Arena.