March 3, 2004

NEW ORLEANS, La. - -

Conference USA Tournament Notes

The Tulane women's basketball team travels to Fort Worth, Texas this weekend to take part in the 2004 Conference USA Women's Basketball Tournament. The Green Wave, seeded 12th, will face No. 5 seed Marquette in the first round on Thursday, with the winner advancing to play No. 4 seed DePaul on Friday.

Tulane, the tournament's No. 12 seed, enters Thursday's game with a 10-17 overall record and is 3-11 in Conference USA play after having posted a 65-51 triumph over Southern Miss in a must-win game this past Friday. Thanks to an unenviable attrition rate that saw the loss of six players from last season's team (four to graduation, one to a career-ending injury and one to an overseas professional contract), the Green Wave are suffering through its worst season since the 1991-92 squad finished 9-19.

Junior Lakethia Hampton leads the team in scoring and rebounding, contributing 13.4 points and 8.1 rebounds per contest. Senior Kelly Nadeau adds 9.8 points and leads the squad with 83 assists and 47 three-pointers.

Marquette earned the No. 5 seed at the Conference USA Tournament thanks to a 19-8 overall record and a 9-5 league mark. The Golden Eagles are 6-4 in their last 10 games, but closed out the regular season with a 62-61 win over No. 4 seed DePaul at home.

Marquette boasts C-USA's top defense, allowing just 57.2 points per game.

Tulane owns a narrow 6-5 lead in the all-time series against Marquette, though the Golden Eagles have won three straight between the two clubs. Earlier this season, Marquette posted a 69-55 win over the Wave in Milwaukee. Tulane's last win over Marquette came with a 59-58 triumph in the second round of the 2001 C-USA Tournament in Milwaukee - which the Wave would go on to win.

The Green Wave earned the No. 12 seed at the Conference USA Tournament - its lowest seeding ever at the event. Before this season, the Wave's lowest seed was the No. 5 seed at both the 1996 and 2002 tournaments.

In the eight previous tournaments, Tulane boasts a 16-4 record with championships in 1997, 1999, 2000 and 2001. The Wave also reached the finals in 2002.

The No. 12 seed has only won once in the history of the Confernece USA Tournament, when South Florida posted an 82-69 win over No. 5 seed DePaul at the 2000 tournament.