With the Alabama-Birmingham Blazers breathing down Tulane's neck, senior Kyren Whittington scored 13 points in the fourth quarter to lift the Green Wave to a 72-55 victory Saturday at Devlin Fieldhouse.
Tulane (14-7, 7-3 AAC) entered the game tied for fourth in the American Athletic Conference and sped past UAB (14-8, 5-5), which entered in sixth place. Tulane has won three games in a row and six of its past eight.
The Green Wave led 48-45 entering the fourth before Whittington took over as Tulane outscored the Blazers 24-10 in the fourth. She finished with a season-high 28 points. Her previous season-high in conference play was 15.
"Coach putting the ball in my hands and trusting me, my teammates trusting me, felt really great," said Whittington, who shot 11 of 15, including 4 of 5 on 3-point attempts. "They gave me confidence. We shared the ball really well."
In the fourth, Whittington shot 5 of 6, including 3 of 3 on 3-point tries. And there were some big ones.
Her first trey of the fourth -- a 25-footer -- produced the first points of the quarter, stretched the lead to 51-45 and launched a personal 8-1 run by Whittington. She drove aggressively for a basket at the 6:54 mark, then hit another 3, prompting UAB to call a timeout.
A three-point play by point guard Kendall Sneed off a beautiful crossover move gave the Wave a 13-point bulge at 59-46. Whittington's final trey gave the Wave a 62-48 edge, and she split a double-team and drove for a basket at the 3:16 mark for a 64-51 lead, all but sealing the win.
Forward Sherese Pittman scored 14 points and forward Amira Mabry had 12 points and nine rebounds for Tulane. Center Dyllan Hanna had a game-high 13 rebounds, tying her career-high. Tulane, which leads the AAC in rebounding, beat up the Blazers on the boards, 40-26, including a 14-8 advantage in offensive rebounds.
"We got our tails kicked on the boards," said UAB coach Randy Norton, who is in his 12th year leading the program. "They just outplayed us in the fourth quarter. We didn't score enough in the fourth. We turned the ball over in the fourth quarter, and (Tulane) got away from us and got points in transition."
For the second consecutive game, it appeared the Green Wave's uptempo pace also was a factor as an opponent wilted late. Coach Ashley Langford lauded her team's defense against the Blazers, who lead the conference in scoring and is second in field-goal percentage.
"We're more connected now, and we're picking and choosing when we're going to run, when we're going to slow it down and execute," Langford said. "We're getting better at it.
"We executed on both sides of the basketball. So, I'm really happy with where we are right now."
Tulane next will play at Rice (12-10, 5-5) on Wednesday. The Owls beat the Wave at Devlin Fieldhouse on Jan. 1 in its conference home opener, 72-64, by scoring 33 points in the fourth quarter.
The Wave then will play at North Texas on Feb. 9. Tulane handed North Texas (16-5, 8-1) a 65-62 loss Jan. 8 at Devlin Fieldhouse.
Tulane's next home game is against Temple (12-9, 6-4) on Feb. 15. The Wave notched a big win at Temple, 62-60, on Jan. 25.