Tulane Captures Second Straign C-USA Tournament Title

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Janell Burse scored 21 points and Grace Daley added 19 as No. 21 Tulane beat UAB 73-70 to win the 2000 Jewish Hospital Conference USA tournament Monday night.

Fabrecia Roberson added 12 points and Sarah Goree 11 for top-seeded Tulane (26-4), which earned an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament. Deanna Jackson scored 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead UAB (19-12), which outrebounded Tulane 39-25. Jackson made 12-of-18 shots from the field, including 3-for-5 from 3-point range, and both of her free throw attempts. Holly Holland added 17 points and Lisa Jackson had 11 for the Blazers. The Green Wave opened with a 14-2 run and held a 36-34 lead at halftime. Tulane shot 47.9 percent and forced 11 UAB turnovers. The Blazers, the tournament's No. 8 seed, shot 41 percent.

UAB took its first lead, 41-38, on Deanna Jackson's 3-pointer less than two minutes into the second half.

With the score tied at 55, a 7-0 run put Tulane up 62-55 with 3:07 remaining. The Blazers pulled to 71-70 on another 3-pointer by Deanna Jackson, but Burse and Daley each hit free throws in the final seconds to complete the scoring.

The tournament title was the second in a row for the Green Wave and third in four years. For UAB their successful tournament run saw them become the first team in Conference USA history to reach the championship game that did not receive an opening day bye.

Tulane's Janell Burse was named Tournament MVP and was joined on the all-tournament team by teammate Grace Daley. Rounding out the all-tournament team was Deanna Jackson and Holly Holland of UAB, along with UNC Charlotte's Jameka Jones.