Feb. 21, 2007

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NEW ORLEANS - The Tulane Women's Basketball team can clinch a share of the regular season Conference USA crown with a win Thursday over SMU at 7 p.m. at Fogelman Arena. Tulane (22-5 overall, 11-3 C-USA) owns a one-game lead over UAB and can earn the number one overall seed with a win Thursday. Senior guard D'Aundra Henry scored 24 points in Tulane's win at SMU and now needs 24 points for 1,000 for her career.

Tulane is gunning for its third regular season Conference USA championship, having won the crown in the 1997 and 1999 seasons. Tulane has won six Conference USA titles, with four C-USA tournament championships (1997, 1999, 2000 and 2001).

The number one overall seed in Conference USA would give the Wave a bye to the quarterfinal round of the Conference USA Women's Basketball Championship (March 1-4, at Tulsa's Reynolds Center).

D'Aundra Henry is coming off back-to-back 19-point games at Marshall and at East Carolina. She sits at 976 career points and can become the 19th member of Tulane's 1,000 point club with two dozen more points. Teammate Jami Montagnino became the 18th member on February 1.

Sophomore point guard Ashley Langford has also added herself to the Tulane record books, breaking her own single-season assist record with 172 thus far. Last year as a true freshman, Langford was fifth in the NCAA and led all freshmen in assists, setting a school record with 171. She needs two assists to enter the Green Wave's top 10 career marks and at her pace of 6.35 APG in 54 career games, can become Tulane's all-time assist leader next season.

Tulane will play Tulsa on Saturday in the final regular season home game of the season. Tulane's tip with Tulsa will air on CSTV (tape delay) as part of a double-header with the Green Wave men's team. The women will play second, following the 3 p.m. men's meeting with Southern Miss (which will air live on CSTV). The Wave will celebrate Senior Day before tip-off, as Tulane honors fi fth-year senior guard D'Aundra Henry and senior guard Jami Montagnino in pre-game ceremonies.

Series history: Tulane leads, 10-6
Tulane has won five of the last seven, including a 58-53 win in Dallas this season on January 14 (on ESPN2). D'Aundra Henry scored a season-high 24 points off the bench in the game.

Wave Approaches Top 25
Tulane is receiving votes in this week's polls with 8 points (32nd) in the AP and one point (T-37th) in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll. Tulane is 61st in the RPI (CollegeRPI.com, 2/20).

Wave Can Clinch Conference USA
Tulane sits alone in first place in Conference USA at 11-3. The Green Wave can clinch a share of the C-USA title and the top tournament seed with a win. One win this weekend (or one loss by East Carolina, Rice or UTEP) would give Tulane it's third regular season C-USA crown. Tulane has won four tournament titles.

Another 20 Win Season
Tulane has earned its eighth 20-win season under Coach Lisa Stockton in the last 13 years. Tulane has earned an NCAA bid each year it reaches 20 wins.

Montagnino's 1,000-Point Club Membership
Senior guard Jami Montagnino hit the 1,000 point-mark at Houston and now has 1,040 for her career 17th on Tulane's all-time scoring list.

Henry Hunting 1,000
D'Aundra Henry now sits 24 points back of 1,000 for her career after 19-point games at Marshall and East Carolina. She is averaging 17.2 points in her last five games.

Ashley's Assists
Ashley Langford is ninth in the NCAA in APG with 6.37. She tied her own Tulane record for single-game assists with 14 against UTEP. She is averaging 7.14 APG in Conference USA games.

Defensive D'Aundra
Guard D'Aundra Henry is 27th in the NCAA in steals and ranks fourth all-time at Tulane (244) after picking up six at Marshall, including a game-sealing steal with 30 seconds left after Marshall took the lead. The Herd never scored again.

Ashley's All-America
Ashley Langford broke her own single-season assist record at ECU, surpassing the 171 she handed out as a freshman (which earned her Freshman All-American honors), which led all NCAA freshmen. She currently sits at 172 through 27 games.

Balanced Attack
Tulane is 18-2 this season when three or more players reach double-figures in scoring. Ten different players have scored 10+ points in a game this season.

Free Throw Throw Down
Jami Montagnino is 11th in free throw percentage (.889) in the latest NCAA rankings, having converted on 88-of-99 this season. It would be the second-highest single-season free throw percentage in Tulane history. She set the top mark last year at .899 (80-of-89).Ashley Langford (86-of-103, .835) is 54th in the NCAA. The deo have traded Tulane's career lead in free throw percentage all season. Langford (.856, 172-of-201) currently leads by a .0017 margin over Montagnino (.855, 229-of-268).

Streak Snapped
East Carolina snapped Tulane's 10-game win streak last Saturday with a 76-68 win in Greenville. The Wave's streak was the second longest total and the second-longest win streak against Conference USA opponents in school history. Tulane's six-game road steak was Tulane's second longest ever, and the longest road conference win streak in school history.

Dom-inating in the Paint
Junior forward Dominique Philpots has set a career high for points with 13 in each of the last two games, she blocked a career-high five shots in Tulane's win at Memphis and another two vs UAB.

Thieve Wave
Tulane is seventh in the NCAA in steals, averaging 12.4 per game. D'Aundra Henry (27nd, 2.8) and Ashley Langford (74th, 2.4) both rank individually. The Green Wave recorded 21 steals against Loyola, the third-most ever in a game for Tulane.

Smothered by the Wave
Tulane has held 15 teams to 61 points or less this season (13-2) and became the third team to hold LSU under 60 points since 2005-06 started (joining No. 4 Duke, and No. 7 Connecticut).

Tulane's NCAA Tournament Tradition under Coach Stockton
Tulane has nine NCAA Tournament appearances in 12 seasons, all under Stockton, Conference USA's winningest coach.

Conference USA Champions
Tulane seeks its fifth C-USA title, having won the Tournament in `97, `99, 2000 and `01; and regular season crown in 1997 and `99.