Dec. 30, 2006

Box Score | Box Score (PDF) | 2006 Tulane DoubleTree Classic Tournament Central

NEW ORLEANS - The 5-foot-5 point guard was a giant for Tulane as Ashley Langford recorded a double-double with 17 points and a career-high 10 rebounds to earn Tulane DoubleTree Classic MVP honors in Tulane's 68-65 win over Texas Arlington Saturday. The Wave (11-2) win their home tournament for the ninth time in the 11-year history of the tournament.

With 3:18 to go, trailing by one, Langford grabbed a defensive rebound and threw a full-court pass to Alendra Brown, who laid it in while being fouled. The `and-one' gave Tulane a 63-61 lead they would never give up.

Langford then hit a jumper with 2:13 remaining, for a three-point lead and senior guard Jami Montagnino maintained that margin with a pair of free throws with 11.8 seconds left.

UTA's Terra Wallace got off a last second three-point attempts, but with freshman guard Chassity Brown in her face, the shot rimmed out.

Montagnino added 15 points and five rebounds to earn All-Tournament Team honors. Wallace finished with 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists to earn All-Tournament honors, along with teammate Maryann Abanobi, who finished with 17 points and five three-pointers.

Brown finished with seven points and three blocks for the Wave, while forward Kendra Barnes added eight points on four-of-four shooting.

The Green Wave fell behind 8-5 early, but tied the game 10-10 following a long-range jumper from Langford. After a lay-up by UTA's Tiffeny Riles, the Wave took a 22-20 lead on a triple from the corner by Nikki Luckhurst with 5:08 remaining in the half.

Dominique Philpots hit a leaning jumper from the low block to give the Wave a 29-28 lead, but Maryann Abanobi knocked down a three-pointer as the Mavericks tied the game 33-33 at the break.

Langford led the Wave at intermission with eight points, while Wallace paced the Mavericks, with nine. The Mavericks held a 23-14 edge on the glass in the first half, but the Wave connected on 52 percent from the field in the first half.

Montagnino opened the second half with a lay-up and free throw on the `and-one' opportunity. Alendra Brown followed with a pair of free throws as the Wave took a 38-33 lead.

But Texas-Arlington reeled off a 13-7 run, taking a 46-45 lead on a three by Meghan Nelson. The game slowed down as both teams hit the bonus and traded free throws before Abanobi hit a leaning three-pointer with the shot clock winding down for a 54-52 UTA lead.

UTA led by three before a pair of free throws by Montagnino made it 60-61, setting up Langford's full court heave to Brown.

Tulane closes out the non-conference season with an 11-2 mark, including 7-1 at Fogelman Arena. Tulane won its second tournament championship of the season, having won the Florida International Thanksgiving Classic in November.

The Green Wave open Conference USA play on Tuesday, January 2 at UTEP, which enters conference play a surprising 10-1 on the year after being picked 10th in C-USA in the preseason coaches' forecast. The Wave and Miners tip off at 6 p.m. start.

2006 Tulane DoubleTree Classic All-Tournament Team:
MVP: Ashley Langford, Tulane
Jami Montagnino, Tulane
Terra Wallace, Texas-Arlington
Maryann Abanobi, Texas-Arlington
Beth Troutt, Fordham
Arminite Price, Ole Miss

Consolation game: Ole Miss 99, Fordham 43
Ole Miss opened with a 29-2 run on the Fordham Rams in the consolation game, cruising to a 99-43 win.

Armintie Price paced the Rebels with 16 points and 11 rebounds, picking up All-Tournament team honors. Danetra Price added 16 points, also on 7-of-10 shooting, with 10 rebounds.

Fordham's Beth Troutt also earned a spot on the All-Tournament team with a 23-point effort.