Game 8: No. 3 SMU 86, No. 6 Tulane 84 (3OT)
March 4, 2006 DALLAS - After never having even a double overtime in the first 10 Conference USA Championships, Friday night's final quarterfinal between Tulane and host SMU went to triple-OT, where the Mustangs finally emerged with an 86-84 victory over the Green Wave to advance to the semifinals on Saturday afternoon. Five team tournament records and three individual marks were broken during the contest. SMU doubled the previous C-USA Championship record for blocked shots, turning back 16 Tulane shot attempts. Sarah Davis and Kendall Shead each had six rejections, while Sharee Shepherd had two. Despite having 16 shots turned back, Tulane would hit nine three-pointers, including several crucial ones late in regulation and in the overtimes. "They got a couple of key offensive rebounds and when you have a team that has so many good outside shooters it's hard to defend them," said SMU head coach Rhonda Rompola. Sophomore forward Janielle Dodds recorded her 12th double-double of the season, finishing with 24 points and 14 rebounds. Davis scored 18 points and pulled down nine boards as the Mustangs held a 39-32 advantage on the glass. Tulane junior guard Jami Montagnino bounced back from a season-low two-point night in yesterday's win over UCF to establish a new career high with 35 points, the fifth-best total in championship history. She tied a tournament record for free throw percentage, hitting 12-of-12 attempts from the line, while draining five three-pointers. Tulane had several chances to win the game in regulation over the final 58 seconds. But, after Montagnino missed a three-pointer, SMU would block the next three shot attempts by Tulane to send the game to overtime. In the first extra session, SMU led nearly the entire five minutes. Shead hit a free throw to put the Mustangs up 71-67 with 1:27 remaining. Sasha Staidum chipped into the lead with a free throw and following a missed jumper by Dodds, Tulane would have an opportunity to tie. The Wave's Luckhurst would miss a pair of three-pointers, but Ashley Langford buried a trey with four seconds remaining to knot the score at 71-71 and create the first double-overtime in championship history. The Mustangs scored the first four points of the second overtime and never trailed, holding the lead until the final horn when Alendra Brown's layup rolled in as the buzzer sounded. SMU will face Rice in Saturday's second semifinal. CSTV will air the game live, beginning at 5:30 p.m. CT. "Of course I'm worried about playing Rice tomorrow," said Rompola. "Despite our bodies being worn down right now, tomorrow is another day."
C-USA CHAMPIONSHIP RECORDS SET IN THE TULANE-SMU GAME
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