NEW ORLEANS – A poor second quarter from Wichita State propelled Tulane to a 79-63 win Saturday night in Avron B. Fogelman Arena.

Wichita State (4-9, 1-7) dropped its third straight game and snapped a two-game win streak in New Orleans vs. Tulane.

Asia Strong made it eight straight games in double figures with a team-high 18 points to go with six rebounds. DJ McCarty came up one point shy of her career high, finishing with a season-high 17 off the bench. Mariah McCully struggled shooting the ball, but finished with 10 points on 4-of-16 attempts.

Tulane (14-5, 10-4) hit 9-of-20 tries from downtown and shot 50 percent from the field, while holding the Shockers to 3-of-15 from beyond the arc and 36 percent overall. Wichita State committed only nine turnovers, a season low, but couldn't take advantage by putting the ball in the basket.

Krystal Freeman scored a game-high 20 points to lead five Green Wave players in double figures.

Wichita State built an early five-point lead following a three-point play from Strong, but nine unanswered from Tulane gave the Green Wave a 17-13 lead with 2:15 to play in the opening quarter.

Six straight from Wichita State briefly put the Shockers back in front, but Tulane would take a 20-19 lead into the second after a steal and score beat the buzzer. Strong scored seven first quarter points to lead the offensive attack.

The first quarter saw Wichita State shoot 50 percent from the field, but the second quarter was almost the complete opposite. The Shockers were just 2-of-16 from the field and 0-of-6 from three-point range. During a scoreless drought of 7:27 Tulane pushed its lead to as many as 13 and would take a 36-25 lead into the locker room.

Strong led all scorers at the break with 11 points, while Krystal Freeman led the Green Wave with 10.

Tulane finished the half shooting 50 percent overall compared to Wichita State at 31 percent thanks to the dismal second period.

The Green Wave continued their efficient offense to begin the third quarter, knocking down seven of their first nine shots. Tulane's margin reached 16 with 4:45 left in the frame, forcing a Keitha Adams timeout.

The deficit reached 20 with 3:09 remaining, but Wichita State got it down to 15, 63-48, at the end of quarter behind baskets from Strong and Seraphine Bastin.

Slowly but surely Wichita State cut the deficit to single digits after back-to-back scores from McCarty with 3:18 to play. McCarty would add one more score, but that would be all the scoring over the final three-plus minutes.

Up Next
Wichita State continues its eight-day road trip to Memphis for a pair of games against the Tigers on Monday, Feb. 15 and Wednesday, Feb. 17. Both games will tip at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+.