March 4, 2008

Tournament Central

Tulane vs Marshall (Thurs. 1:30 p.m. CT) : Gametracker | Watch | Listen | Game Notes

NEW ORLEANS - The Tulane Green Wave enter the Conference USA women's basketball championship coming off back-to-back wins. The Green Wave face the sixth-seeded Marshall Thundering Herd Thursday at 1:30 p.m. CT. at New UCF Arena in Orlando, Fla.

The 11th-seeded Green Wave enter the tournament at 16-13 overall, 6-10 in Conference USA. Sixth-seeded Marshall enters just one game ahead of Tulane in the C-USA standings at 7-9, with a 15-15 overall record. Tulane is coming off a pair of wins, posting a 20-point win over Tulsa on Thursday, and a 71-68 win over second-seeded SMU Saturday on Senior Night.

Nikki Luckhurst is averaging 13.5 points in her last six games as Tulane closed the regular season by winning five of eight.

Tulane downed Marshall, 61-56, on February 10 at Fogelman Arena behind a career-high 13 points from Tiffany Aidoo. Brittany Lindsey chipped in 12 points and Ashley Langford added 11. Tulane hit 20-26 from the free throw line in the second half to hold onto a game in which the Wave led virtually the entire way - by as many as 11 - before Marshall's late run. Alyssa Hammond led the Herd with a game-high 14 points.

Marshall is led by Kizzy Hart with 14.4 points per game and Casey Baker at 11.8 PPG. Tynikki Crook paces the Herd on the glass with 5.5 rebounds per game.

The Green Wave have never lost to the Thundering Herd, with a regular season Conference USA win in each of the last three seasons.

The Herd are 0-2 in the C-USA tournament. All-time, Tulane is 5-5 in the C-USA tournament when playing a team seeded higher, although seeds 6-11 in this season's tournament were separated by just one game against an unbalanced schedule.

The winner of Thursday's game faces third-seeded UAB in the quarterfinals on Friday at 1:30 p.m. CT.

Tulane's games in the C-USA tournament can be heard live in New Orleans on 88.3 fm, WRBH, and online at TulaneGreenWave.com. www.ConferenceUSA.com will provide live streaming video of the first two rounds. The semifinals (CSTV) and final (ESPN2) will air on national television.