Tulane Upsets Colorado State, 73-69

Sarah Goree

The Green Wave advances to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after defeating Colorado State, 73-69 in the West Region.

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) - Gwen Slaughter had 15 points and 14 rebounds as Tulane held off Colorado State 73-69 Saturday in the opening round of the NCAA West Regional.


The 10th-seeded Green Wave (24-10), making their eighth straight appearance in the tournament, led by as many as 27 points early in the second half.


Colorado State (24-7) came alive in the final eight minutes and closed within 68-65 on Joy Jenkins' 3-pointer with 1:40 to go. The suddenly energetic Rams, however, couldn't get closer.


Tulane advanced to the second round Monday night against the winner of Saturday's late game between second-seeded Stanford and 15th-seeded Weber State.


Angie Gorton had 16 points, and Ashley Augspurger had 10 points and seven rebounds for the seventh-seeded Rams, who made their fourth NCAA tournament appearance in the past five seasons.


The taller and more athletic Green Wave started to pull away midway through the first half, going on a 10-2 run capped by Kaisha Lymon's jumper that put Tulane up 20-11.


Tulane took a 35-20 lead on Slaughter's jumper in the final seconds of the first half. Slaugher had 12 points and five rebounds before the break.


The Green Wave expanded the lead early in the second half to 51-24 on Tiffany Wilson's layup.


Britt Themann scored 14 points for Tulane, and Teana McKiver and Sarah Goree each added 11.