Tulane’s Green Wave offered DePaul an eyeful Friday night of what the Blue Demons might expect to see in Saturday’s quarterfinal round in the Conference USA women’s basketball tournament.
That was an aggressive, help-out, error-forcing one defense that stifled Alabama-Birmingham, which scored only 10 first-half points in Friday’s 62-35 first-round rout at the DePaul Athletic Center.
The game was over after 14 minutes. No. 5 seed Tulane led 24-6. No. 12 seed UAB had missed 10-of-12 shots and committed 11 turnovers. And on those 11 turnovers, Tulane had earned eight steals, five by guard Kelly Nadeau.
Nadeau and Sarah Goree, up front in the zone, could cheat into passing lanes and go for steals because of the two swift 6-foot-3-inch teammates lurking behind them, Teana McKiver and Gwen Slaughter.
“Teana and Gwen really make it easy for me,” said Nadeau, who had seven of her team’s 14 steals. “They’re great shot-blockers, so if I gamble and miss going for the steal, opponents still have to deal with Teana and Gwen.”
Charlotte 58, Memphis 46: No. 7 seeded Charlotte was in danger of being KO’d in the first round by No. 10 Memphis. Then Tara “Peaches” Harris came to the rescue and the 49ers (16-12) advanced into Saturday’s game against Houston.
Harris, a 5-8 guard, scored 11 straight points in three minutes to lift her team from a 38-33 deficit into a 44-38 lead. She finished with 18 points.
Louisville 83, S. Mississippi 52: The No. 6-seeded Cardinals breezed past the No. 11 Eagles and into Saturday’s quarterfinal against Cincinnati, the 22nd-ranked team in the nation.
Point guard Sara Nord scored 16 points, dished off seven assists and did not commit a turnover. Forward LaKisha Hoffman from Seton Academy, had 12 rebounds.
St. Louis 43, Marquette 40: In the closest game of the night, clutch second-half three-point shooting by sophomore Kristi Holloway enabled the No. 9 seed Billikins to edge No. 8 Marquette and advance to a game Saturday against No. 1 seed TCU.
Holloway sank three-three pointers in the second half, including one off an in-bounds pass she launched one second left on the shot clock. That tied the game 36-36 with five minutes left, and LaKia Jones scored the next basket on a rebound to put St. Louis ahead for good.
