Tulane founds itself in a scoring drought at the most inopportune time, coming down the stretch of its game Saturday against Alabama-Birmingham.
It appeared to be leading to another close loss, and at home, nonetheless.
However, Kanija Daniel blocked a shot that led to freshman guard Mecailin Marshall’s go-ahead 3-pointer with 50.7 seconds left on the way to a 73-68 American Athletic Conference victory at Devlin Fieldhouse.
It marks the first time this season that Tulane (8-10, 3-3) has gotten back-to-back victories. UAB (7-11,0-6) lost its sixth game in a row.
“Kanija’s block at the end was crucial, and Mecailin’s shot was huge,” said center Dyllan Hanna, who had 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, her second consecutive game with that many rebounds. “It feels good winning back-to-back games, coming off the win at Temple. We’re looking to keep trending in the right direction.”
Five Green Wave players scored in double figures, led by 13 points by power forward Amira Mabry. Forward Jayda Brown scored 11, and Daniel and freshman back-up point guard Shiloh Kimpson each had 10. Simpson also tied for a game-high five assists.
Guard Cali Smallwood led four Blazers in double figures with 17 points, and point guard Sofia Munoz had 14. However, Smallwood did not score in the second half, and Munoz scored two points.
The victory was keyed by Tulane’s 42-30 rebounding advantage, as it finished with big margins in points in the lane (36-22) and second-chance points (17-4).
Still, the Green Wave found itself in another close battle down the stretch. In a back-and-forth battle, Tulane took a 64-63 lead on point guard Kendall Sneed’s drive at 5:26 of the fourth quarter. However, the Wave did not score until Hanna was fouled in the lane at the 1:22 mark. Hanna, who has struggled from the line, made both free throws, bringing the Wave to within 68-66.
Daniel’s big block came with 58 seconds left. She dribbled the ball into the fore court and passed to Sneed, who found Marshall open behind the 3-point line. The shot gave Tulane a 69-68 lead with 50.7 seconds left. It was the Wave’s first basket since the 5:26 mark.
A UAB turnover on the ensuing inbounds pass led to two free throws by Sneed for a three-point margin. Daniels made one free throw and Sneed two in the final 23 seconds to seal the win.
UAB led 40-38 at halftime behind blistering 3-point shooting (8 of 17), including 5 of 8 in the second quarter. The Blazers shot 48.3% in the half overall against Tulane’s man-to-man defense.
The Wave led 24-19 two minutes into the second quarter. However UAB point guard Eleecia Carter sank a 3 at the 7:47 mark, touching off five 3s the rest of the half.
Every time Tulane tied the score or came close, the Blazers answered with a 3-pointer. Smallwood, who shot 5 of 8 in the half on 3-point attempts in scoring 17 points, gave UAB a 29-26 lead at the 6:13 mark. She followed with another one that gave the Blazers a 32-28 margin.
Aftet Tulane scored to 32-31 on two free throws by Mabry, Blazers guard Jordan Rosier nailed a corner 3 for a 35-31 lead. Kimpson answered with a trey at 3:54 only to see Smallwood sink another one 21 seconds later for a 38-34 margin.
The Wave was able to stay in the game by going inside, getting 22 points in the paint, mostly on feeds to Hanna and put-backs — four in the first half — as Tulane used its size advantage underneath to control the boards.
Tulane next will play at Rice on Jan. 24, then at Memphis on Jan. 27 before meeting Temple at Devlin Fieldhouse on Jan. 31.
